Publications

cuticular proteins and seasonal photoperiodism in aphids.	for poikilotherm animals such as insects, extreme temperatures can be a severe issue in continental regions. aphids, which reproduce in spring and summer by viviparity, are prone to death in hard winter conditions. these species exhibit reproductive plasticity adapted to winter by producing oviparous females in autumn, which lay overwintering eggs. this switch is driven by photoperiodism, and long nights are sufficient to trigger the change in reproductive mode. global transcriptomic analyses ap ...	2010	20018241
design, multicomponent synthesis, and bioactivities of novel neonicotinoid analogues with 1,4-dihydropyridine scaffold.	novel neonicotinoid analogues bearing a 1,4-dihydropridine scaffold were designed and synthesized by multicomponent reactions (mcrs) to enhance pi-pi stacking. the synthesized compounds were identified by (1)h nmr, (13)c nmr, high-resolution mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. bioassay tests showed that some of them exhibited high insecticidal activities against pea aphid ( aphis craccivora ).	2010	20000775
entomotoxic action of sambucus nigra agglutinin i in acyrthosiphon pisum aphids and spodoptera exigua caterpillars through caspase-3-like-dependent apoptosis.	in this project, the toxicity and mechanism of action of the ricin-b-related lectin sna-i from elderberry (sambucus nigra) in the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) and the beet armyworm (spodoptera exigua), two important pest insects in agriculture, were studied. sna-i is a chimeric lectin belonging to the class of ribosome-inactivating proteins and consists of an a-chain with n-glycosidase activity and a carbohydrate-binding b-chain. incorporation of 2 mg/ml of sna-i in the diet of neonates and a ...	2010	20853435
insecticidal properties of sclerotinia sclerotiorum agglutinin and its interaction with insect tissues and cells.	this project studied in detail the insecticidal activity of a fungal lectin from the sclerotes of sclerotinia sclerotiorum, referred to as s. sclerotiorum agglutinin or ssa. feeding assays with the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) on an artificial diet containing different concentrations of ssa demonstrated a high mortality caused by this fungal lectin with a median insect toxicity value (lc50) of 66 (49-88) μg/ml. in an attempt to unravel the mode of action of ssa the binding and interaction of ...	2010	20826211
bioactivity of essential oils from leaves and bark of laurelia sempervirens and drimys winteri against acyrthosiphon pisum.	the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (harris), is a cosmopolitan pest that attacks a wide range of legume crops and vectors important plant virus diseases. in this project, essential oils from the leaf (l) and bark (b) of laurelia sempervirens (ruiz & pavón) tul. (l) and drimys winteri jr forster & g forster (d) were extracted, and their deterrent and insecticidal activities were tested under laboratory conditions.	2010	20715015
genomics and peptidomics of neuropeptides and protein hormones present in the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis.	neuropeptides and protein hormones constitute a very important group of signaling molecules, regulating central physiological processes such as reproduction, development, and behavior. using a bioinformatics approach, we screened the recently sequenced genome of the parasitic wasp, nasonia vitripennis, for the presence of these signaling molecules and annotated 30 precursor genes encoding 51 different mature neuropeptides or protein hormones. twenty-four of the predicted mature nasonia neuropept ...	2010	20695486
genetics of color polymorphism in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	the genetic basis of color polymorphism is explored in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (harris) (homoptera: sternorrhyncha), in which two color morphs have been described (pink or green). laboratory crosses and a mendelian genetic analysis reveal that color polymorphism in pea aphids is determined by a single biallelic locus, which we name colorama, with alleles p and p, pink being dominant to green. the putative genotypes are pp or pp for pink morphs, and pp for green morphs. this locus is s ...	2010	20673119
the anatomy of an aphid genome: from sequence to biology.	in 2009, the genome of the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) was sequenced and partially annotated. this means that the scientific community has now access to the genetic material of aphids that are serious pests of plants. the description of an aphid genome is a first step to go deeper in the understanding of the biology of these insects. in this article, we first describe how the pea aphid genome has been sequenced and its major characteristics. however, a genome is only a part of what an indivi ...	2010	20541158
antifeedant activity and high mortality in the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera: aphidae) induced by biostable insect kinin analogs.	the insect kinins are multifunctional neuropeptides found in a variety of arthropod species, including the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera: aphidae). a series of biostable insect kinin analogs based on the shared c-terminal pentapeptide core region were fed in solutions of artificial diet to the pea aphid over a period of 3 days and evaluated for antifeedant and aphicidal activity. the analogs contained either alpha,alpha-disubstituted or beta-amino acids in key positions to enhance res ...	2010	19596392
the "acrostyle": a newly described anatomical structure in aphid stylets.	the recent demonstration that a plant virus could be retained on protein receptors located exclusively in a small area inside the common duct at the tip of aphid maxillary stylets indicated the possible existence of a distinct anatomical structure at this level. since no distinct feature within the common duct of any aphid species has ever been reported in the literature, we first carefully re-examined the distal extremity of the maxillary stylets of acyrthosiphon pisum using transmission- and s ...	2010	20170746
aphid wing induction and ecological costs of alarm pheromone emission under field conditions.	the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum harris, (homoptera: aphididae) releases the volatile sesquiterpene (e)-beta-farnesene (ebf) when attacked by a predator, triggering escape responses in the aphid colony. recently, it was shown that this alarm pheromone also mediates the production of the winged dispersal morph under laboratory conditions. the present work tested the wing-inducing effect of ebf under field conditions. aphid colonies were exposed to two treatments (control and ebf) and tested in ...	2010	20585639
anterior development in the parthenogenetic and viviparous form of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum: hunchback and orthodenticle expression.	in the dipteran drosophila, the genes bicoid and hunchback work synergistically to pattern the anterior blastoderm during embryogenesis. bicoid, however, appears to be an innovation of the higher diptera. hence, in some non-dipteran insects, anterior specification instead relies on a synergistic interaction between maternally transcribed hunchback and orthodenticle. here we describe how orthologues of hunchback and orthodenticle are expressed during oogenesis and embryogenesis in the parthenogen ...	2010	20482641
wing development genes of the pea aphid and differential gene expression between winged and unwinged morphs.	little is known about when, how or even if the wing development gene network elucidated in drosophila is deployed in direct-developing insects. here we identify the wing development genes (as determined in drosophila) of the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum), which produces winged or unwinged adults in response to environmental cues. we find that the principal wing development genes studied in drosophila are present in the aphid genome and that apterous and decapentaplegic exhibit duplications. we ...	2010	20482640
expansion of genes encoding a novel type of dynamin in the genome of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	screening of the entire genome of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, detected 15 genes for putative dynamin superfamily proteins - self-assembling large gtpases that are involved in the fission and fusion of membranes. in addition to a single gene each for dyn, drp1, and opa1, orthologues that are common in metazoa, 12 genes encoding a novel type of dynamin were found. phylogenetic analyses showed that these novel-class genes are monophyletic. quantitative reverse transcription-pcr demonstrated ...	2010	20482648
comparative analysis of detoxification enzymes in acyrthosiphon pisum and myzus persicae.	herbivorous insects use detoxification enzymes, including cytochrome p450 monooxygenases, glutathione s-transferases, and carboxy/cholinesterases, to metabolize otherwise deleterious plant secondary metabolites. whereas acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid) feeds almost exclusively from the fabaceae, myzus persicae (green peach aphid) feeds from hundreds of species in more than forty plant families. therefore, m. persicae as a species would be exposed to a greater diversity of plant secondary metaboli ...	2010	20482647
dna methylation and genome evolution in honeybee: gene length, expression, functional enrichment covary with the evolutionary signature of dna methylation.	a growing body of evidence suggests that dna methylation is functionally divergent among different taxa. the recently discovered functional methylation system in the honeybee apis mellifera presents an attractive invertebrate model system to study evolution and function of dna methylation. in the honeybee, dna methylation is mostly targeted toward transcription units (gene bodies) of a subset of genes. here, we report an intriguing covariation of length and epigenetic status of honeybee genes. h ...	2010	20924039
functional conservation of dna methylation in the pea aphid and the honeybee.	dna methylation is a fundamental epigenetic mark known to have wide-ranging effects on gene regulation in a variety of animal taxa. comparative genomic analyses can help elucidate the function of dna methylation by identifying conserved features of methylated genes and other genomic regions. in this study, we used computational approaches to distinguish genes marked by heavy methylation from those marked by little or no methylation in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum. we investigated if these ...	2010	20855427
host races of the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum differ in male wing phenotypes.	the evolution of reproductive isolation without geographic isolation (sympatric speciation) has recently gained strong theoretical and empirical supports. it is now widely admitted that many host-specific phytophagous insect species have arisen through shifting and adapting to new plants. the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum has received considerable attention in this context and is now considered as a probable case of incipient sympatric speciation through host specialization. in europe, three hos ...	2010	19323853
comprehensive survey of developmental genes in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum: frequent lineage-specific duplications and losses of developmental genes.	aphids exhibit unique attributes, such as polyphenisms and specialized cells to house endosymbionts, that make them an interesting system for studies at the interface of ecology, evolution and development. here we present a comprehensive characterization of the developmental genes in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, and compare our results to other sequenced insects. we investigated genes involved in fundamental developmental processes such as establishment of the body plan and organogenesis, ...	2010	20482639
a full-length cdna resource for the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	large collections of full-length cdnas are important resources for genome annotation and functional genomics. we report the creation of a collection of 50 599 full-length cdna clones from the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum. sequencing from 5' and 3' ends of the clones generated 97 828 high-quality expressed sequence tags, representing approximately 9000 genes. these sequences were imported to aphidbase and are shown to play crucial roles in both automatic gene prediction and manual annotation. o ...	2010	20482637
molecular cloning and characterization of a prenyltransferase from the cotton aphid, aphis gossypii.	prenyltransferases play a key role in isoprenoid biosynthesis. here, a cdna encoding a prenyltransferase was isolated from the cotton aphid, aphis gossypii, which consists of 1354 nucleotides and encodes a protein of 394 amino acids (agipps). subsequent sequencing of agipps genomic dna resulted in one 3138-bp sequence. southern blotting analysis indicated that only a single ipps gene exists in the cotton aphid. real-time quantitative pcr showed that agipps transcripts were mainly present at the ...	2010	20510361
a genomic analysis of transcytosis in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, a mechanism involved in virus transmission.	aphids are the primary vectors of plant viruses. transmission can occur via attachment to the cuticle lining of the insect (non-circulative transmission) or after internalization in the insect cells with or without replication (circulative transmission). in this paper, we have focused on the circulative and non-propagative mode during which virions enter the cell following receptor-mediated endocytosis, are transported across the cell in vesicles and released by exocytosis without replicating. t ...	2010	20482656
analysis of meiosis and cell cycle genes of the facultatively asexual pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera: aphididae).	phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental change is a common phenomenon, yet is poorly understood at the genetic and molecular level. aphids exhibit a reproductive plasticity whereby seasonal changes result in asexual or sexual reproduction. to investigate the genetic basis of this reproductive plasticity, we assessed the meiosis and cell cycle gene repertoire in the genome of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum. aphids possess meiotic recombination genes and g1-to-s phase transition reg ...	2010	20482653
a functional dna methylation system in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	methylation of cytosine is one of the main epigenetic mechanisms involved in controlling gene expression. here we show that the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) genome possesses homologues to all the dna methyltransferases found in vertebrates, and that 0.69% (+/-0.25%) of all cytosines are methylated. identified methylation sites are predominantly restricted to the coding sequence of genes at cpg sites. we identify twelve methylated genes, including genes that interact with juvenile hormone, a k ...	2010	20482652
halloween genes and nuclear receptors in ecdysteroid biosynthesis and signalling in the pea aphid.	the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) is the first whole genome sequenced insect with a hemimetabolic development and an emerging model organism for studies in ecology, evolution and development. the insect steroid moulting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20e) controls and coordinates development in insects, especially the moulting/metamorphosis process. we, therefore present here a comprehensive characterization of the halloween genes phantom, disembodied, shadow, shade, spook and spookiest, coding f ...	2010	20482650
identification of ion channel genes in the acyrthosiphon pisum genome.	aphids are major pests of crops, causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage annually. ion channel proteins are often the targets of modern insecticides and mutations in ion channel genes can lead to resistance to many leading classes of insecticides. the sequencing of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, genome has now allowed detailed in silico analysis of the aphid ion channels. the study has revealed significant differences in the composition of the ion channel families between th ...	2010	20482646
identification of potential early regulators of aphid resistance in medicago truncatula via transcription factor expression profiling.	resistance to aphids has been identified in a number of plant species, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying aphid resistance remain largely unknown. using high-throughput quantitative real-time pcr technology, the transcription profiles of 752 putative medicago truncatula transcription factor genes were analysed in a pair of susceptible and resistant closely related lines of m. truncatula following 6 and 12 h of bluegreen aphid (acyrthosiphon kondoi) infestation. *eighty-two transcription f ...	2010	20345634
a genomic reappraisal of symbiotic function in the aphid/buchnera symbiosis: reduced transporter sets and variable membrane organisations.	buchnera aphidicola is an obligate symbiotic bacterium that sustains the physiology of aphids by complementing their exclusive phloem sap diet. in this study, we reappraised the transport function of different buchnera strains, from the aphids acyrthosiphon pisum, schizaphis graminum, baizongia pistaciae and cinara cedri, using the re-annotation of their transmembrane proteins coupled with an exploration of their metabolic networks. although metabolic analyses revealed high interdependencies bet ...	2011	22229056
biostable multi-aib analogs of tachykinin-related peptides demonstrate potent oral aphicidal activity in the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera: aphidae).	the tachykinin-related peptides (trps) are multifunctional neuropeptides found in a variety of arthropod species, including the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera: aphidae). two new biostable trp analogs containing multiple, sterically hindered aib residues were synthesized and found to exhibit significantly enhanced resistance to hydrolysis by angiotensin converting enzyme and neprilysin, membrane-bound enzymes that degrade and inactivate natural trps. the two biostable analogs were also ...	2011	20869418
a barley cysteine-proteinase inhibitor reduces the performance of two aphid species in artificial diets and transgenic arabidopsis plants.	cystatins from plants have been implicated in plant defense towards insects, based on their role as inhibitors of heterologous cysteine-proteinases. we have previously characterized thirteen genes encoding cystatins (hvcpi-1 to hvcpi-13) from barley (hordeum vulgare), but only hvcpi-1 c68 → g, a variant generated by direct-mutagenesis, has been tested against insects. the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of the whole gene family members of barley cystatins against two aphids, myzus p ...	2011	20567901
oral activity of fmrfamide-related peptides on the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera: aphididae) and degradation by enzymes from the aphid gut.	insect myosuppressins and myosuppressin analogues were tested for oral toxicity against the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (harris) by incorporation into an artificial diet. acyrthosiphon pisum myosuppressin (acypi-ms) and leucomyosuppressin (lms) had significant dose-dependent effects (0.1-0.5μg peptide/μl diet) on feeding suppression, mortality, reduced growth and fecundity compared with control insects, but acypi-ms was more potent than lms. one hundred percent of aphids had died after 10days ...	2011	21704083
ap-apse dpol intein: a novel family a dna polymerase intein domain.	inteins are "protein introns" that remove themselves from their host proteins through an autocatalytic protein-splicing. after their discovery, inteins have been quickly identified in organisms from all three kingdoms of life - eucarya, bacteria and archaea, but their distribution is sporadic. here we report the identification and bioinformatics characterization of intein in dna polymerase a gene of bacteriophage apse (acyrthosiphon pisum secondary endosymbiont bacteriophage) infecting the aphid ...	2011	21572881
short-term consequences of reproductive mode variation on the genetic architecture of energy metabolism and life-history traits in the pea aphid.	cyclically parthenogenetic animals such as aphids are able alternating sexual and asexual reproduction during its life cycle, and represent good models for studying short-term evolutionary consequences of sex. in aphids, different morphs, whether sexual or asexual, winged or wingless, are produced in response to specific environmental cues. the production of these morphs could imply a differential energy investment between the two reproductive phases (i.e., sexual and asexual), which can also be ...	2011	21539843
predicted effector molecules in the salivary secretome of the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum): a dual transcriptomic/proteomic approach.	the relationship between aphids and their host plants is thought to be functionally analogous to plant-pathogen interactions. although virulence effector proteins that mediate plant defenses are well-characterized for pathogens such as bacteria, oomycetes, and nematodes, equivalent molecules in aphids and other phloem-feeders are poorly understood. a dual transcriptomic-proteomic approach was adopted to generate a catalog of candidate effector proteins from the salivary glands of the pea aphid, ...	2011	21226539
revisiting the anatomy of the central nervous system of a hemimetabolous model insect species: the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum.	aphids show a marked phenotypic plasticity, producing asexual or sexual and winged or wingless morphs depending on environmental conditions and season. we describe here the general structure of the brain of various morphs of the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum. this is the first detailed anatomical study of the central nervous system of an aphid by immunocytochemistry (synapsin, serotonin, and several neuropeptides), ethyl-gallate staining, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and three-dimensional ...	2011	21170552
tangible benefits of the aphid acyrthosiphon pisum genome sequencing for aphid proteomics: enhancements in protein identification and data validation for homology-based proteomics.	homology-driven proteomics promises to reveal functional biology in insects with sparse genome sequence information. a proteomics study comparing plant virus transmission competent and refractive genotypes of the aphid schizaphis graminum isolated numerous candidate proteins involved in virus transmission, but limited genome sequence information hampered their identification. the complete genome of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, released in 2008, enabled us to double the number of protein i ...	2011	21070785
pyrosequencing the midgut transcriptome of the brown planthopper, nilaparvata lugens.	the brown planthopper, nilaparvata lugens, is a serious pest threatening rice production across the world. to identify the main features of the gene expression and the key components of the midgut of n. lugens responsible for nutrition, xenobiotic metabolism and the immune response, we used pyrosequencing to sample the transcriptome. more than 190,000 clean sequences were generated, which led to about 30,000 unique sequences. sequence analysis indicated that genes with abundant transcripts in th ...	2011	21919985
pea aphids, acyrthosiphon pisum, suppress induced plant volatiles in broad bean, vicia faba.	plants defend themselves against herbivory through several means, including the production of airborne volatile organic compounds (vocs). these vocs benefit plants by attracting natural enemies of their herbivores. the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, is able to feed on its host plant, vicia faba, without inducing detectable changes in plant voc emission. levels of vocs emission are not significantly different between control plants and those fed upon by aphids for up to 5 days. using a second he ...	2011	21870158
comparisons of salivary proteins from five aphid (hemiptera: aphididae) species.	aphid (hemiptera: aphididae) saliva, when injected into host plants during feeding, causes physiological changes in hosts that facilitate aphid feeding and cause injury to plants. comparing salivary constituents among aphid species could help identify which salivary products are universally important for general aphid feeding processes, which products are involved with specific host associations, or which products elicit visible injury to hosts. we compared the salivary proteins from five aphid ...	2011	22182624
silencing of aphid genes by dsrna feeding from plants.	rna interference (rnai) is a valuable reverse genetics tool to study gene function in various organisms, including hemipteran insects such as aphids. previous work has shown that rnai-mediated knockdown of pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) genes can be achieved through direct injection of double-stranded rna (dsrna) or small-interfering rnas (sirna) into the pea aphid hemolymph or by feeding these insects on artificial diets containing the small rnas.	2011	21998682
gydb mobilomics: ltr retroelements and integrase-related transposons of the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum genome.	the gypsy database concerning mobile genetic elements (release 2.0) is a wiki-style project devoted to the phylogenetic classification of ltr retroelements and their viral and host gene relatives characterized from distinct organisms. furthermore, gydb 2.0 is concerned with studying mobile elements within genomes. therefore, an in-progress repository was created for databases with annotations of mobile genetic elements from particular genomes. this repository is called mobilomics and the first u ...	2011	22016855
diversity in protein glycosylation among insect species.	a very common protein modification in multicellular organisms is protein glycosylation or the addition of carbohydrate structures to the peptide backbone. although the class of the insecta is the largest animal taxon on earth, almost all information concerning glycosylation in insects is derived from studies with only one species, namely the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster.	2011	21373189
personality variation in a clonal insect: the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	individuals are often consistent in their behavior but vary from each other in the level of behavior shown. despite burgeoning interest in such animal personality variation, studies on invertebrates are scarce, and studies on clonal invertebrates nonexistent. this is surprising given the obvious advantages of using invertebrates/clones to tackle the crucial question why such consistent behavioral differences exist. here we show that individuals of clonal pea aphids exhibit consistent behavioral ...	2011	21365642
new analogues of (e)-β-farnesene with insecticidal activity and binding affinity to aphid odorant-binding proteins.	(e)-β-farnesene is a strong and efficient alarm pheromone in most aphid species. however, applications in agriculture are prevented by its relatively high volatility, its susceptibility to oxidation and its complex and expensive synthesis. to develop novel compounds for aphid control, we have designed and synthesized analogues of (e)-β-farnesene, containing a pyrazole moiety present in several insecticides. their structures have been confirmed by 1h nmr, elemental analysis, high-resolution mass ...	2011	21341697
effects of bacterial secondary symbionts on host plant use in pea aphids.	aphids possess several facultative bacterial symbionts that have important effects on their hosts' biology. these have been most closely studied in the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum), a species that feeds on multiple host plants. whether secondary symbionts influence host plant utilization is unclear. we report the fitness consequences of introducing different strains of the symbiont hamiltonella defensa into three aphid clones collected on lathyrus pratensis that naturally lack symbionts, and ...	2011	20843842
analysis of expressed sequence tags from maize mosaic rhabdovirus-infected gut tissues of peregrinus maidis reveals the presence of key components of insect innate immunity.	the corn planthopper, peregrinus maidis, causes direct feeding damage to plants and transmits maize mosaic rhabdovirus (mmv) in a persistent-propagative manner. mmv must cross several insect tissue layers for successful transmission to occur, and the gut serves as an important barrier for rhabdovirus transmission. in order to facilitate the identification of proteins that may interact with mmv either by facilitating acquisition or responding to virus infection, we generated and analysed the gut ...	2011	21199018
rapid evolution of parasitoids when faced with the symbiont-mediated resistance of their hosts.	insects harbour a wild diversity of symbionts that can spread and persist within populations by providing benefits to their host. the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum maintains a facultative symbiosis with the bacterium hamiltonella defensa, which provides enhanced resistance against the aphid parasitoid aphidius ervi. although the mechanisms associated with this symbiotic-mediated protection have been investigated thoroughly, little is known about its evolutionary effects on parasitoid populations ...	2011	21261770
acyrthosiphon pisum aqp2: a multifunctional insect aquaglyceroporin.	annotation of the recently sequenced genome of the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) identified a gene apaqp2 (acypi009194, gene id: 100168499) with homology to the major intrinsic protein/aquaporin superfamily of membrane channel proteins. phylogenetic analysis suggests that apaqp2 is a member of an insect-specific clade of this superfamily. homology model structures of apaqp2 showed a novel array of amino acids comprising the substrate selectivity-determining "aromatic/arginine" region of the pu ...	2011	22166843
identification and characterization of a novel legume-like lectin cdna sequence from the red marine algae gracilaria fisheri.	a legume-type lectin (l-lectin) gene of the red algae gracilaria fisheri (gfl) was cloned by rapid amplification of cdna ends (race). the full-length cdna of gfl was 1714 bp and contained a 1542 bp open reading frame encoding 513 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 56.5 kda. analysis of the putative amino acid sequence with ncbi-blast revealed a high homology (30-68%) with legume-type lectins (l-lectin) from griffithsia japonica, clavispora lusitaniae, acyrthosiphon pisum, tetraodon n ...	2011	22116281
comparative analysis of the udp-glycosyltransferase multigene family in insects.	udp-glycosyltransferases (ugt) catalyze the conjugation of a range of diverse small lipophilic compounds with sugars to produce glycosides, playing an important role in the detoxification of xenobiotics and in the regulation of endobiotics in insects. recent progress in genome sequencing has enabled an assessment of the extent of the ugt multigene family in insects. here we report over 310 putative ugt genes identified from genomic databases of eight different insect species together with a tran ...	2011	22155036
potential use of a serpin from arabidopsis for pest control.	although genetically modified (gm) plants expressing toxins from bacillus thuringiensis (bt) protect agricultural crops against lepidopteran and coleopteran pests, field-evolved resistance to bt toxins has been reported for populations of several lepidopteran species. moreover, some important agricultural pests, like phloem-feeding insects, are not susceptible to bt crops. complementary pest control strategies are therefore necessary to assure that the benefits provided by those insect-resistant ...	2011	21655276
presence of a functional (ttagg)(n) telomere-telomerase system in aphids.	the structure of the telomeres of four aphid species (acyrthosiphon pisum, megoura viciae, myzus persicae and rhopalosiphum padi) was evaluated by southern blotting and fluorescent in situ hybridization, revealing that each chromosomal end consists of a (ttagg)(n) repeat. the presence of a telomerase coding gene has been verified successively in the a. pisum genome, revealing that aphid telomerase shares sequence identity ranging from 12% to 18% with invertebrate and vertebrate homologues, and p ...	2011	21667174
multimodal dynamic response of the buchnera aphidicola pleu plasmid to variations in leucine demand of its host, the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum.	aphids, important agricultural pests, can grow and reproduce thanks to their intimate symbiosis with the ?-proteobacterium buchnera aphidicola that furnishes them with essential amino acids lacking in their phloem sap diet. to study how b. aphidicola, with its reduced genome containing very few transcriptional regulators, responds to variations in the metabolic requirements of its host, we concentrated on the leucine metabolic pathway. we show that leucine is a limiting factor for aphid growth a ...	2011	21797941
characterisation of immune responses in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	the innate immune system of insects provides effective defence against a range of parasites and pathogens. the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, is a novel study system for investigating host-parasite interactions due to its complex associations with both well-characterised bacterial symbionts and a diversity of pathogens and parasites, including several important biological control agents. however, little is known about the cellular and humoral immune responses of aphids. here we identify three m ...	2011	21439291
protein digestion in cereal aphids (sitobion avenae) as a target for plant defence by endogenous proteinase inhibitors.	gut extracts from cereal aphids (sitobion avenae) showed significant levels of proteolytic activity, which was inhibited by reagents specific for cysteine proteases and chymotrypsin-like proteases. gut tissue contained cdnas encoding cathepsin b-like cysteine proteinases, similar to those identified in the closely related pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum). analysis of honeydew (liquid excreta) from cereal aphids fed on diet containing ovalbumin showed that digestion of ingested proteins occurred i ...	2011	21477592
the genome of buchnera aphidicola from the aphid cinara tujafilina provides new clues about the evolutionary history of metabolic losses in bacterial endosymbionts.	the symbiotic association between aphids (homoptera) and buchnera aphidicola (γ-proteobacteria) started about 100-200 million years ago. as a consequence of this relationship, the bacterial genome has undergone a prominent size reduction. the downsize genome process starts when the bacterium enters the host, and will probably end with its extinction and replacement by another healthier bacterium, or with the establishment of metabolic complementation between two or more bacteria. nowadays, sever ...	2011	21571878
interaction of the bacillus thuringiensis delta endotoxins cry1ac and cry3aa with the gut of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (harris).	hemipteran pests including aphids are not particularly susceptible to the effects of insecticidal cry toxins derived from the bacterium bacillus thuringiensis. we examined the physiological basis for the relatively low toxicity of cry1ac and cry3aa against the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (harris). cry1ac was efficiently hydrolyzed by aphid stomach membrane associated cysteine proteases (cp) producing a 60kda mature toxin, whereas cry3aa was incompletely processed and partially degraded. cry1a ...	2011	21300068
responses of the pea aphid transcriptome to infection by facultative symbionts.	serratia symbiotica is a facultative symbiont of pea aphids (acyrthosiphon pisum) that provides tolerance to heat stress. although the phenotypic effects of facultative symbionts upon hosts have been studied in some detail, little is known about the molecular and genomic basis of these interactions. previous studies show a large impact of s. symbiotica upon the aphid metabolome. whole-genome transcriptional profiling and next-generation sequencing demonstrated expression of 94% of refseq genes f ...	2011	21382108
sources of variation in dietary requirements in an obligate nutritional symbiosis.	the nutritional symbiosis between aphids and their obligate symbiont, buchnera aphidicola, is often characterized as a highly functional partnership in which the symbiont provides the host with essential nutrients. despite this, some aphid lineages exhibit dietary requirements for nutrients typically synthesized by buchnera, suggesting that some aspect of the symbiosis is disrupted. to examine this phenomenon in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, populations were assayed using defined artificia ...	2011	20667882
functional analysis of a fatty acid binding protein produced by aphidius ervi teratocytes.	aphidius ervi (hymenoptera, braconidae) is an endophagous parasitoid of various aphid species, including acyrthosiphon pisum (homoptera, aphididae), the model host used in the present study. parasitized hosts show a marked increase of their nutritional suitability for the developing parasitoid larvae. this alteration of the biochemical and metabolic profile is due to a castration process mediated by the combined action of the venom, injected at the oviposition, and of the teratocytes, cells deri ...	2011	22226822
how the insect immune system interacts with an obligate symbiotic bacterium.	the animal immune system provides defence against microbial infection, and the evolution of certain animal-microbial symbioses is predicted to involve adaptive changes in the host immune system to accommodate the microbial partner. for example, the reduced humoral immune system in the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum, including an apparently non-functional immune deficiency (imd) signalling pathway and absence of peptidoglycan recognition proteins (pgrps), has been suggested to be an adaptation for ...	2011	20719775
the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor family in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	the basic helix-loop-helix (bhlh) proteins play essential roles in a wide range of developmental processes in higher organisms. bhlh family members have been identified in over 20 organisms, including fruit fly, zebrafish, and human. this study identified 54 bhlh family members in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (harris) (hemiptera: aphididae), genome. phylogenetic analyses revealed that they belong to 37 bhlh families with 21, 13, 9, 1, 9, and 1 members in group a, b, c, d, e, and f, respect ...	2011	21870970
genomic basis of endosymbiont-conferred protection against an insect parasitoid.	bacterial endosymbionts exert a variety of beneficial effects on insect hosts. in pea aphids (acyrthosiphon pisum), several inherited endosymbiont species protect their hosts against parasitoid wasps, which are major natural enemies. however, strains of these symbiont species vary in their ability to confer protection against parasitoids, with some conferring almost complete protection and others conferring almost none. in this study, two strains of the endosymbiont regiella insecticola (r. inse ...	2011	21948522
aphid genome expression reveals host-symbiont cooperation in the production of amino acids.	the evolution of intimate symbiosis requires the coordination of gene expression and content between the distinct partner genomes; this coordination allows the fusion of capabilities of each organism into a single integrated metabolism. in aphids, the 10 essential amino acids are scarce in the phloem sap diet and are supplied by the obligate bacterial endosymbiont (buchnera), which lives inside specialized cells called bacteriocytes. although buchnera's genome encodes most genes for essential am ...	2011	21282658
genomic revelations of a mutualism: the pea aphid and its obligate bacterial symbiont.	the symbiosis of the pea aphid acyrthosphion pisum with the bacterium buchnera aphidicola aps represents the best-studied insect obligate symbiosis. here we present a refined picture of this symbiosis by linking pre-genomic observations to new genomic data that includes the complete genomes of the eukaryotic and prokaryotic symbiotic partners. in doing so, we address four issues central to understanding the patterns and processes operating at the a. pisum/buchnera aps interface. these four issue ...	2011	21390549
genetic and metabolic determinants of nutritional phenotype in an insect-bacterial symbiosis.	the pervasive influence of resident microorganisms on the phenotype of their hosts is exemplified by the intracellular bacterium buchnera aphidicola, which provides its aphid partner with essential amino acids (eaas). we investigated variation in the dietary requirement for eaas among four pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) clones. buchnera-derived nitrogen contributed to the synthesis of all eaas for which aphid clones required a dietary supply, and to none of the eaas for which all four clones ha ...	2011	21392141
large-scale label-free quantitative proteomics of the pea aphid-buchnera symbiosis.	many insects are nutritionally dependent on symbiotic microorganisms that have tiny genomes and are housed in specialized host cells called bacteriocytes. the obligate symbiosis between the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum and the ?-proteobacterium buchnera aphidicola (only 584 predicted proteins) is particularly amenable for molecular analysis because the genomes of both partners have been sequenced. to better define the symbiotic relationship between this aphid and buchnera, we used large-scale, ...	2011	21421797
escherichia coli k-12 pathogenicity in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, reveals reduced antibacterial defense in aphids.	to better understand the molecular basis underlying aphid immune tolerance to beneficial bacteria and immune defense to pathogenic bacteria, we characterized how the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum responds to escherichia coli k-12 infections. e. coli bacteria, usually cleared in the hemolymph of other insect species, were capable of growing exponentially and killing aphids within a few days. red fluorescence protein expressing e. coli k-12 laboratory strain multiplied in the aphid hemolymph as we ...	2011	21527277
effect of host genotype on symbiont titer in the aphid-buchnera symbiosis.	obligate nutritional symbioses require balance between the energetic needs of the host and the symbiont. the resident symbiont population size within a host may have major impacts on host fitness, as both host and symbiont consume and supply metabolites in a shared metabolite pool. given the massive genome degradation that is a hallmark of bacterial endosymbionts of insects, it is unclear at what level these populations are regulated, and how regulation varies among hosts within natural populati ...	2011	26467737
genome expansion and differential expression of amino acid transporters at the aphid/buchnera symbiotic interface.	in insects some of the most ecologically important symbioses are nutritional symbioses that provide hosts with novel traits and thereby facilitate exploitation of otherwise inaccessible niches. one such symbiosis is the ancient obligate intracellular symbiosis of aphids with the γ-proteobacteria, buchnera aphidicola. while the nutritional basis of the aphid/buchnera symbiosis is well understood, the processes and structures that mediate the intimate interactions of symbiotic partners remain unch ...	2011	21613235
facultative symbiont infections affect aphid reproduction.	some bacterial symbionts alter their hosts reproduction through various mechanisms that enhance their transmission in the host population. in addition to its obligatory symbiont buchnera aphidicola, the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum harbors several facultative symbionts influencing several aspects of host ecology. aphids reproduce by cyclical parthenogenesis whereby clonal and sexual reproduction alternate within the annual life cycle. many species, including the pea aphid, also show variation i ...	2011	21818272
Assessing aphids potato virus Y-transmission efficiency: A new approach.	In order to develop an alternative method to optimize the relative efficiency factor (REF) assessment, the efficiency of transmission of Potato virus Y (PVY) by seven aphid species was examined. In vitro micropropagated potato plantlets were used to experiment on phenotypically and genetically homogeneous material. Species-specific acquisition access period (AAP) on a PVY-infected plantlet was assessed for each aphid species using electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. Aphid probing behav ...	2011	21884729
Serratia symbiotica from the aphid Cinara cedri: a missing link from facultative to obligate insect endosymbiont.	The genome sequencing of Buchnera aphidicola BCc from the aphid Cinara cedri, which is the smallest known Buchnera genome, revealed that this bacterium had lost its symbiotic role, as it was not able to synthesize tryptophan and riboflavin. Moreover, the biosynthesis of tryptophan is shared with the endosymbiont Serratia symbiotica SCc, which coexists with B. aphidicola in this aphid. The whole-genome sequencing of S. symbiotica SCc reveals an endosymbiont in a stage of genome reduction that is ...	2011	22102823
microorganisms from aphid honeydew attract and enhance the efficacy of natural enemies.	aphids are one of the most serious pests of crops worldwide, causing major yield and economic losses. to control aphids, natural enemies could be an option but their efficacy is sometimes limited by their dispersal in natural environment. here we report the first isolation of a bacterium from the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum honeydew, staphylococcus sciuri, which acts as a kairomone enhancing the efficiency of aphid natural enemies. our findings represent the first case of a host-associated bac ...	2011	21673669
de novo assembly and characterization of a maternal and developmental transcriptome for the emerging model crustacean parhyale hawaiensis.	arthropods are the most diverse animal phylum, but their genomic resources are relatively few. while the genome of the branchiopod daphnia pulex is now available, no other large-scale crustacean genomic resources are available for comparison. in particular, genomic resources are lacking for the most tractable laboratory model of crustacean development, the amphipod parhyale hawaiensis. insight into shared and divergent characters of crustacean genomes will facilitate interpretation of future dev ...	2011	22118449
novel male-biased expression in paralogs of the aphid slimfast nutrient amino acid transporter expansion.	a major goal of molecular evolutionary biology is to understand the fate and consequences of duplicated genes. in this context, aphids are intriguing because the newly sequenced pea aphid genome harbors an extraordinary number of lineage-specific gene duplications relative to other insect genomes. though many of their duplicated genes may be involved in their complex life cycle, duplications in nutrient amino acid transporters appear to be associated rather with their essential amino acid poor d ...	2011	21917168
cycads: an annotation database system to ease the development and update of biocyc databases.	in recent years, genomes from an increasing number of organisms have been sequenced, but their annotation remains a time-consuming process. the biocyc databases offer a framework for the integrated analysis of metabolic networks. the pathway tool software suite allows the automated construction of a database starting from an annotated genome, but it requires prior integration of all annotations into a specific summary file or into a genbank file. to allow the easy creation and update of a biocyc ...	2011	21474551
expansion of genes encoding pirna-associated argonaute proteins in the pea aphid: diversification of expression profiles in different plastic morphs.	piwi-interacting rnas (pirnas) are known to regulate transposon activity in germ cells of several animal models that propagate sexually. however, the role of pirnas during asexual reproduction remains almost unknown. aphids that can alternate sexual and asexual reproduction cycles in response to seasonal changes of photoperiod provide a unique opportunity to study pirnas and the pirna pathway in both reproductive modes. taking advantage of the recently sequenced genome of the pea aphid acyrthosi ...	2011	22162754
deep sequencing of organ- and stage-specific micrornas in the evolutionarily basal insect blattella germanica (l.) (dictyoptera, blattellidae).	micrornas (mirnas) have been reported as key regulators at post-transcriptional level in eukaryotic cells. in insects, most of the studies have focused in holometabolans while only recently two hemimetabolans (locusta migratoria and acyrthosiphon pisum) have had their mirnas identified. therefore, the study of the mirnas of the evolutionarily basal hemimetabolan blattella germanica may provide valuable insights on the structural and functional evolution of mirnas.	2011	21552535
parallel duplication and partial subfunctionalization of β-catenin/armadillo during insect evolution.	β-catenin is a multifunctional scaffolding protein with roles in wnt signaling, cell adhesion, and centrosome separation. here, we report on independent duplications of the insect β-catenin ortholog armadillo (arm) in the red flour beetle tribolium castaneum and the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum. detailed sequence analysis shows that in both species, one paralog lost critical residues of the α-catenin binding domain, which is essential for cell adhesion, and accumulated a dramatically higher num ...	2011	21890476
evolutionary study of duplications of the mirna machinery in aphids associated with striking rate acceleration and changes in expression profiles.	the sequencing of the genome of the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum revealed an unusual expansion of the mirna machinery, with two argonaute-1, two dicer-1 and four pasha gene copies. in this report, we have undertaken a deeper evolutionary analysis of the phylogenetic timing of these gene duplications and of the associated selective pressures by sequencing the two copies of ago-1 and dcr-1 in different aphid species of the subfamily aphidinae. we have also carried out an analysis of the expressio ...	2012	23145470
comparative transmission of two cucumber mosaic virus isolates by two color morphs of acyrthosiphon pisum (harris).	cucumber mosaic virus (cmv) is one of the most important legume-infecting viruses, which is transmitted effectively by pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (harris) (hem: aphididae). transmission efficiency of two cmv isolates (as and kh from cowpea and bean hosts, resp.) by red and green color morphs of pea aphid were evaluated on bean plants. triple-antibody sandwich elisa (tas-elisa) using cmv-specific monoclonal antibodies revealed that both cmv isolates belonged to the serotype ii. bean plants ino ...	2012	22720705
feeding-based rna interference of a gap gene is lethal to the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	the gap gene hunchback (hb) is a key regulator in the anteroposterior patterning of insects. loss-of-function of hb resulted in segmentation defects in the next generation. in this paper, hb expression level was investigated at different developmental stages of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (ap). aphb mrna was most early detected at the first instar stage and showed an incontinuous increase in the whole life cycle. ingested rna interference was performed at the second instar stage to knockd ...	2012	23144942
the cellular immune response of the pea aphid to foreign intrusion and symbiotic challenge.	recent studies suggest that the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum) has low immune defenses. however, its immune components are largely undescribed, and notably, extensive characterization of circulating cells has been missing. here, we report characterization of five cell categories in hemolymph of adults of the ll01 pea aphid clone, devoid of secondary symbionts (ss): prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, spherulocytes and wax cells. circulating lipid-filed wax cells are rare; they otherwise ...	2012	22848726
dickeya dadantii, a plant pathogenic bacterium producing cyt-like entomotoxins, causes septicemia in the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum.	dickeya dadantii (syn. erwinia chrysanthemi) is a plant pathogenic bacteria that harbours a cluster of four horizontally-transferred, insect-specific toxin genes. it was recently shown to be capable of causing an acute infection in the pea aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (insecta: hemiptera). the infection route of the pathogen, and the role and in vivo expression pattern of these toxins, remain unknown. using bacterial numeration and immunolocalization, we investigated the kinetics and the pattern of ...	2012	22292023
identification of distinct quantitative trait loci associated with defence against the closely related aphids acyrthosiphon pisum and a. kondoi in medicago truncatula.	aphids are a major family of plant insect pests. medicago truncatula and acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid, pa) are model species with a suite of resources available to help dissect the mechanism underlying plant-aphid interactions. a previous study focused on monogenic and relatively strong resistance in m. truncatula to pa and other aphid species. in this study a moderate resistance to pa was characterized in detail in the m. truncatula line a17 and compared with the highly susceptible line a20 a ...	2012	22442407
endogenous rna viruses of plants in insect genomes.	endogenous viral elements (eves) derived from rna viruses with no dna stage are rare, especially those where the parental viruses possess single-strand positive-sense (ssrna+) genomes. here we provide evidence that eves that share a sequence similarity to ssrna+viruses of plants are integrated into the genomes of a number of insects, including mosquito, fruit flies, bees, ant, silkworm, pea aphid, monarch butterfly, and wasps. a preliminary phylogenetic analysis places these eves as divergent re ...	2012	22410578
cellular mechanism for selective vertical transmission of an obligate insect symbiont at the bacteriocyte-embryo interface.	many insects are associated with obligate symbiotic bacteria, which are localized in specialized cells called bacteriocytes, vertically transmitted through host generations via ovarial passage, and essential for growth and reproduction of their hosts. although vertical transmission is pivotal for maintenance of such intimate host-symbiont associations, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the process are largely unknown. here we report a cellular mechanism for vertical transmission of th ...	2012	22517738
the central role of the host cell in symbiotic nitrogen metabolism.	symbiotic nitrogen recycling enables animals to thrive on nitrogen-poor diets and environments. it traditionally refers to the utilization of animal waste nitrogen by symbiotic micro-organisms to synthesize essential amino acids (eaas), which are translocated back to the animal host. we applied metabolic modelling and complementary metabolite profiling to investigate nitrogen recycling in the symbiosis between the pea aphid and the intracellular bacterium buchnera, which synthesizes eaas. the re ...	2012	22513857
parasitic wasp responses to symbiont-based defense in aphids.	recent findings indicate that several insect lineages receive protection against particular natural enemies through infection with heritable symbionts, but little is yet known about whether enemies are able to discriminate and respond to symbiont-based defense. the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum, receives protection against the parasitic wasp, aphidius ervi, when infected with the bacterial symbiont hamiltonella defensa and its associated bacteriophage apse (acyrthosiphon pisum secondary endosym ...	2012	22364271
deep sequencing of the transcriptomes of soybean aphid and associated endosymbionts.	the soybean aphid has significantly impacted soybean production in the u.s. transcriptomic analyses were conducted for further insight into leads for potential novel management strategies.	2012	22984624
juvenile hormone titre and related gene expression during the change of reproductive modes in the pea aphid.	most aphids show reproductive polyphenism, i.e. they alternate their reproductive modes from parthenogenesis to sexual reproduction in response to short photoperiods. although juvenile hormone (jh) has been considered a likely candidate for regulating the transition from asexual to sexual reproduction after photoperiod sensing, there are few studies investigating the direct relationship between jh titres and the reproductive-mode change. in addition, the sequencing of the pea aphid genome has al ...	2012	21988597
antifeedant activity of luteolin and genistein against the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	electrical penetration graphs (dc epg) were used to monitor the feeding behavior of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum harris (hemiptera: aphididae) exposed to the flavonoids luteolin and genistein in artificial diets. the epg patterns generated by aphids feeding on plants were used to interpret the patterns generated on the artificial diets. addition of flavonoids to the diets generally prolonged the period of stylet probing (as indicated by epg pattern d-c), reduced salivation (as indicated by ...	2012	23204991
localizing f(st) outliers on a qtl map reveals evidence for large genomic regions of reduced gene exchange during speciation-with-gene-flow.	populations that maintain phenotypic divergence in sympatry typically show a mosaic pattern of genomic divergence, requiring a corresponding mosaic of genomic isolation (reduced gene flow). however, mechanisms that could produce the genomic isolation required for divergence-with-gene-flow have barely been explored, apart from the traditional localized effects of selection and reduced recombination near centromeres or inversions. by localizing f(st) outliers from a genome scan of wild pea aphid h ...	2012	23057835
inbreeding avoidance by recognition of close kin in the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	inbreeding depression has detrimental effects on many organisms, but its effects are potentially greater in organisms that have at least one asexually reproducing life stage. here, the existence of severe inbreeding depression upon selfing (r = 1) in the cyclic parthenogenetic aphid acyrthosiphon pisum (harris) (hemiptera: aphididae) is documented. egg hatching success and offspring survival of inbred mating pairs are significantly lower than that of outbred mating pairs. two possible mechanisms ...	2012	22954315
quantitative genetics of feeding behavior in two ecological races of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum.	much of the diversity of herbivorous insects stems from the adaptive divergence of populations onto different host plants. this often involves the evolution of specialized patterns of host acceptance that in turn lead to assortative mating for insects that mate exclusively on their hosts. here, we explore the genetic architecture of feeding behavior in a herbivorous insect that has become a model for the study of incipient speciation, the pea aphid (acyrthosiphon pisum). we use crosses between i ...	2012	21897437
diversification of genes for carotenoid biosynthesis in aphids following an ancient transfer from a fungus.	the pea aphid genome was recently found to harbor genes for carotenoid biosynthesis, reflecting an ancestral transfer from a fungus. to explore the evolution of the carotene desaturase gene family within aphids, sequences were retrieved from a set of 34 aphid species representing numerous deeply diverging lineages of aphids and analyzed together with fungal sequences retrieved from databases. all aphids have at least one copy of this gene and some aphid species have up to seven, whereas fungal g ...	2012	21878683
large-scale candidate gene scan reveals the role of chemoreceptor genes in host plant specialization and speciation in the pea aphid.	understanding the drivers of speciation is critical to interpreting patterns of biodiversity. the identification of the genetic changes underlying adaptation and reproductive isolation is necessary to link barriers to gene flow to the causal origins of divergence. here, we present a novel approach to the genetics of speciation, which should complement the commonly used approaches of quantitative trait locus mapping and genome-wide scans for selection. we present a large-scale candidate gene appr ...	2012	22946799
a genome-wide identification and analysis of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors in the ponerine ant, harpegnathos saltator.	the basic helix-loop-helix (bhlh) transcription factors and their homologs form a superfamily that plays essential roles in transcriptional networks of multiple developmental processes. bhlh family members have been identified in over 20 organisms, including fruit fly, zebrafish, human and mouse.	2012	22938134
light- induced electron transfer and atp synthesis in a carotene synthesizing insect.	a singular adaptive phenotype of a parthenogenetic insect species (acyrthosiphon pisum) was selected in cold conditions and is characterized by a remarkable apparition of a greenish colour. the aphid pigments involve carotenoid genes well defined in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria and amazingly present in the aphid genome, likely by lateral transfer during evolution. the abundant carotenoid synthesis in aphids suggests strongly that a major and unknown physiological role is related to these compo ...	2012	22900140