Ultrabithorax is a key regulator for the dimorphism of wings, a main cause for the outbreak of planthoppers in rice

Rice planthoppers, the most devastating rice pests, occur in two wing forms: the short-wing form for rapid population growth and long-wing form for long-distance migration, which together create the mechanism for outbreak. Here we show that Ultrabithorax (Ubx) is a key regulator for switching between the long- and short-wing forms of rice planthoppers. Ubx is expressed in both forewing and hindwing pads, which is different from the canonical model of Ubx expression. In brown planthoppers, expression of Ubx (NlUbx) is regulated by nutritional status of the rice host. High-quality young plants induce NlUbx expression leading to the short-wing form; low-quality ripe plants reduce NlUbx expression resulting in long-wing form. We also showed that NlUbx is regulated by the insulin receptors NlInR1 and NlInR2. The default expression of NlInR1 inhibits NlUbx resulting in long-wings, while high-quality hosts induce NlInR2 expression, which represses NlInR1 thus promoting NlUbx expression to produce short-wings.

A New Popular Front, or, on the Role of Critical Jurisprudence under Neo-Authoritarianism in Central-Eastern Europe

The current decade brought a neo-authoritarian wave to the countries in CEE. This process, which in certain respects runs parallel to the populist upsurge in Western countries, has its own specificity. Firstly, by focusing on the clash between “elites” and “the people”, it rekindles – in a displaced, right-wing form – the class conflict which before 1989 was an ideological staple in CEE countries. Secondly, insofar as neo-authoritarianism in CEE has often a distinctly neo-liberal agenda shadowed by declarative anti-globalism and national chauvinism, it warps the field of political struggle. Thirdly, in the neo-authoritarian turn law becomes the crucial field of ideological fight, principally in those countries where populists came to power. In this respect, new governments in CEE resort to a blend of old Fascist tools (such as dismantling of constitutional control and denying the primacy of international law) and new inventions (such as the effective state of exception in some areas of law in Poland introduced in 2015–18). The role of critical jurisprudence in CEE is therefore particularly significant and difficult. The paper argues that liberal jurisprudence, although actively engaged in analysing neo-authoritarianism, does not possess adequate conceptual tools for full success. Therefore critical jurisprudence should urgently take part in explaining neoauthoritarianism in the legal field.

The influence of wing morphology upon the dispersal, geographical distributions and diversification of the Corvides (Aves; Passeriformes)

New species are sometimes known to arise as a consequence of the dispersal and establishment of populations in new areas. It has nevertheless been difficult to demonstrate an empirical link between rates of dispersal and diversification, partly because dispersal abilities are challenging to quantify. Here, using wing morphology as a proxy for dispersal ability, we assess this relationship among the global radiation of corvoid birds. We found that species distributions are associated with wing shape. Widespread species (occurring on both islands and continents), and those that are migratory, exhibit wing morphologies better adapted to long-distance flight compared with sedentary continental or insular forms. Habitat preferences also strongly predict wing form, with species that occur in canopies and/or areas of sparse vegetation possessing dispersive morphologies. By contrast, we found no significant differences in diversification rates among either the migratory or habitat classifications, but species distributed in island settings diversify at higher rates than those found on continents. This latter finding may reflect the elevated dispersal capabilities of widespread taxa, facilitating the radiation of these lineages across insular areas. However, as the correlations between wing morphology and diversification rates were consistently weak throughout our dataset, this suggests that historical patterns of diversification are not particularly well reflected by present-day wing morphology.