Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted ascending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| insights into the venom composition of the ectoparasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis from bioinformatic and proteomic studies. | with the nasonia vitripennis genome sequences available, we attempted to determine the proteins present in venom by two different approaches. first, we searched for the transcripts of venom proteins by a bioinformatic approach using amino acid sequences of known hymenopteran venom proteins. second, we performed proteomic analyses of crude n. vitripennis venom removed from the venom reservoir, implementing both an off-line two-dimensional liquid chromatography matrix-assisted laser desorption/ io ... | 0 | 20167014 |
| comparative analysis of nuclear trna genes of nasonia vitripennis and other arthropods, and relationships to codon usage bias. | using bioinformatics methods, we identified a total of 221 and 199 trna genes in the nuclear genomes of nasonia vitripennis and honey bee (apis mellifera), respectively. we performed comparative analyses of nasonia trna genes with honey bee and other selected insects to understand genomic distribution, sequence evolution and relationship of trna copy number with codon usage patterns. many trna genes are located physically close to each other in the form of small clusters in the nasonia genome. h ... | 0 | 20167017 |
| a vitellogenin polyserine cleavage site: highly disordered conformation protected from proteolysis by phosphorylation. | vitellogenin (vg) is an egg-yolk precursor protein in most oviparous species. in honeybee (apis mellifera), the protein (amvg) also affects social behavior and life-span plasticity. despite its manifold functions, the amvg molecule remains poorly understood. the subject of our structure-oriented amvg study is its polyserine tract - a little-investigated repetitive protein segment mostly found in insects. we previously reported that amvg is tissue specifically cleaved in the vicinity of this trac ... | 0 | 22573762 |
| evidence for deep regulatory similarities in early developmental programs across highly diverged insects. | many genes familiar from drosophila development, such as the so-called gap, pair-rule, and segment polarity genes, play important roles in the development of other insects and in many cases appear to be deployed in a similar fashion, despite the fact that drosophila-like "long germband" development is highly derived and confined to a subset of insect families. whether or not these similarities extend to the regulatory level is unknown. identification of regulatory regions beyond the well-studied ... | 0 | 25173756 |
| identification and characterization of the doublesex gene of nasonia. | the doublesex (dsx) gene of the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis is described and characterized. differential splicing of dsx transcripts has been shown to induce somatic sexual differentiation in diptera and lepidoptera, but not yet in other insect orders. two spliceforms of nasonia dsx mrna are differentially expressed in males and females. in addition, in a gynandromorphic line that produces haploids (normally males) with full female phenotypes, these individuals show the female spliceform, ... | 0 | 19523063 |
| the community of hymenoptera parasitizing necrophagous diptera in an urban biotope. | most reports published in the field of forensic entomology are focused on diptera and neglect the hymenoptera community. however, hymenoptera are part of the entomofaunal colonization of a dead body. the use of hymenoptera parasitoids in forensic entomology can be relevant to evaluate the time of death. hymenoptera parasitoids of the larvae and pupae of flies may play an important role in the estimation of the post-mortem period because their time of attack is often restricted to a small, well-d ... | 0 | 23895458 |
| host-feeding and oviposition on musca domestica by spalangia cameroni, nasonia vitripennis, and muscidifurax raptor (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) influences their longevity and fecundity. | 1967 | 6025086 | |
| susceptibility of house flies (diptera: muscidae) and five pupal parasitoids (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) to abamectin and seven commercial insecticides. | assays of five commercial insecticides applied as residual sprays at label rates to plywood indicated the most toxic insecticide overall for pteromalid parasitoids of house flies, musca domestica l., was atroban (permethrin), followed by ciodrin (crotoxyphos), rabon (tetrachlorvinphos), ectrin (fenvalerate), and cygon (dimethoate). insecticide-susceptible house flies were susceptible to all five insecticides (mortality, 62-100%). flies that were recently colonized from populations on dairy farms ... | 1992 | 1593014 |
| toxicity of the venom from nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) toward fly hosts, nontarget insects, different developmental stages, and cultured insect cells. | a venom preparation from nasonia vitripennis, a wasp ectoparasitoid of fly pupae, was assayed for lethality in different stages of insects representing ten different orders and in cultured insect cells. in most cases, the motor activity of the injected insects remained completely normal for 1-2 days after the injection and displayed none of the symptoms of paralysis commonly reported for venoms of the hymenoptera. a natural host, the flesh fly sarcophaga bullata, was highly sensitive in the pupa ... | 1993 | 8342173 |
| sequence relationship of retrotransposable elements r1 and r2 within and between divergent insect species. | r1 and r2 are retrotransposable elements that integrate at specific sites in the 28s ribosomal rna (rrna) genes of bombyx mori and drosophila melanogaster. we have previously shown that most insect species contain insertions in their 28s genes at the r1 and/or r2 site. we have sequenced the 3' half of r1 and r2 elements from three additional insect species: the fungus gnat, sciara coprophila (diptera); the japanese beetle, popillia japonica (colleoptera); and the parasitic wasp, nasonia vitripen ... | 1993 | 8383793 |
| a prokaryotic dnaa sequence in drosophila melanogaster: wolbachia infection and cytoplasmic incompatibility among laboratory strains. | using oligonucleotide primers derived from the aligned polypeptide sequences of several prokaryotic dnaa genes, we amplified from drosophila melanogaster dna a 557 bp fragment containing a single open reading frame. the predicted peptide sequence shows a significant similarity to previously characterized protein sequences that are encoded by the dnaa genes of several prokaryotes. the dnaa sequences are also detectable by pcr in dna from drosophila simulans and nasonia vitripennis flies which are ... | 1994 | 7894745 |
| [the occurrence of puparium parasitoids as natural enemies of house flies]. | investigations on the pupal parasitoid complex of the house fly musca domestica l. and its seasonal occurrence were carried out, mainly in the land brandenburg, during 1987-1990. samples of about 500-1,500 puparia were collected at irregular from composted calf dung at ruhlsdorf, a pig farm at wittbrietzen, and from straw calf bedding at beelitz. the rates of parasitism varied considerably between seasons and years, as well as stable types and dung managements. the highest level of parasitism wa ... | 1994 | 8173583 |
| the effect of diet on the ultrastructure of the mid-gut cells of nasonia vitripennis (walk.) (insecta: hymenoptera) at various ages. | the ultrastructure of mid-gut cells of female nasonia fed on a diet of 10% sterile sucrose is described. there are extensive alterations in cell organelles, particularly the mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum (r.e.r.) and lipid inclusions, when compared to similar insects fed a normal diet of dipteran pupae. a proportion of the mitochondria found in the apical cell region are enlarged in size and contain electron-dense granules. the remaining mitochondria are smaller, but also contain ele ... | 1994 | 201382 |
| sequence analysis of the d1 and d2 regions of 28s rdna in the hornet (vespa crabro) (hymenoptera, vespinae). | the two variable domains d1 and d2 near the 5' end of the 28s ribosomal rna gene (large subunit rrna) have been sequenced for vespa crabro. the sequence was aligned to corresponding rdna regions of the wasp species nasonia vitripennis, melittobia digitata and the fruit fly drosophila melanogaster. we analysed the nucleotide composition and sequence similarity for the different regions of the investigated sequences and present the inferred secondary structure of vespa crabro. | 1994 | 7704312 |
| induction of paternal genome loss by the paternal-sex-ratio chromosome and cytoplasmic incompatibility bacteria (wolbachia): a comparative study of early embryonic events. | paternal genome loss (pgl) during early embryogenesis is caused by two different genetic elements in the parasitoid wasp, nasonia vitripennis. paternal sex ratio (psr) is a paternally inherited supernumerary chromosome that disrupts condensation of the paternal chromosomes by the first mitotic division of fertilized eggs. bacteria belonging to the genus wolbachia are present in nasonia eggs and also disrupt paternal chromosome condensation in crosses between cytoplasmically incompatible strains. ... | 1995 | 7598906 |
| studies on chrysomyia albiceps (wiedemann) one of the most important carrion flies in egypt. | chrysomyia albiceps often feeds to repletion and then regurgitates a portion of the food, a behaviour that heightens its importance as a mechanical vector of enteric pathogens. pupae of this fly are susceptible to the attack of the parasitic wasp, nasonia vitripennis in the laboratory as well as in nature at different underground depths where they pupate. the fly needs to feed on proteinaceous meals to start and complete its ovarian development. liver, beef, camel, chicken, rabbit and fish meat ... | 1995 | 8586857 |
| single and double infections with wolbachia in the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis: effects on compatibility. | wolbachia are cytoplasmically inherited bacteria responsible for reproductive incompatibility in a wide range of insects. there has been little exploration, however, of within species wolbachia polymorphisms and their effects on compatibility. here we show that some strains of the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis are infected with two distinct bacterial strains (a and b) whereas others are singly infected (a or b). double and single infections are confirmed by both pcr amplification and southe ... | 1996 | 8725242 |
| distribution, prevalence and host associations of hymenoptera parasitic on calliphoridae occurring in flystrike in new zealand. | between 1920 and 1930, four species of parasitoid hymenoptera (tachinaephagus zealandicus, alysia manducator, nasonia vitripennis and brachymeria ucalegon) were imported to new zealand as an aid in the control of the blowflies causing myiasis in sheep (flystrike). their long-term effects have never been investigated and the extent to which they were successful in establishing and enlarging their ranges has been given scant regard over the last 60 years. a long-term epidemiological study of flyst ... | 1996 | 8994139 |
| pupal parasitoids (hymenoptera:pteromalidae) of filth flies (diptera:muscidae, calliphoridae) breeding in refuse and poultry and livestock manure in south korea. | five species of hymenopterous parasitoids were found parasitizing pupae of house flies, musca domestica l., in poultry and livestock facilities, refuse dump sites, and garbage dumpsters: spalangia nigroaenea curtis, s. nigra (latrielle), muscidifurax raptor girault & sanders, pachycrepoideus vindemiae (rondani), and nasonia vitripennis (walker). four hymenopterous parasitoids (s. nigroaenea, s. nigra, m. raptor and p. vindemiae) were recovered from the pupae of stable flies, stomoxys calcitrans ... | 1997 | 9086716 |
| in vitro culture and phylogenetic analysis of "candidatus arsenophonus triatominarum," an intracellular bacterium from the triatomine bug, triatoma infestans. | an intracellular symbiotic bacterium was isolated from the hemolymph of triatoma infestans and cultured in an aedes albopictus cell line. 16s ribosomal dna sequence analysis revealed that the bacterium was a member of the gamma-3 subgroup of the class proteobacteria, having 96.2% sequence identity with the most closely related bacterium, arsenophonus nasoniae, the causative agent of the son-killer trait in the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis. these bacteria share morphological features and a ... | 1997 | 9336921 |
| effects of a and b wolbachia and host genotype on interspecies cytoplasmic incompatibility in nasonia. | wolbachia endosymbionts cause postmating reproductive isolation between the sibling species nasonia vitripennis and n. giraulti. most nasonia are doubly infected with a representative from each of the two major wolbachia groups (a and b). this study investigates the role of single (a or b) and double (a and b) wolbachia infections in interspecies cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) and host genomic influences on the incompatibility phenotype. results show that the single a wolbachia harbored in n. ... | 1998 | 9560398 |
| in vitro analysis of venom from the wasp nasonia vitripennis: susceptibility of different cell lines and venom-induced changes in plasma membrane permeability. | the lethal effects of crude venom prepared from the ectoparasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis were examined with cultured cells from six insect and two vertebrate species. venom caused cells from sarcophaga peregrina (nih sape4), drosophila melanogaster (crl 1963), trichoplusia ni (tn-368 and bti-tn-5b1-4), spodoptera frugiperda (sf-21ae), and lymantria dispar (ipl-ldfbc1) to round up, swell, and eventually die. despite similar sensitivities and overlapping lc50 values [0.0004-0.0015 venom reservoi ... | 1999 | 10475265 |
| extensive zygotic control of the anteroposterior axis in the wasp nasonia vitripennis. | insect axis formation is best understood in drosophila melanogaster, where rapid anteroposterior patterning of zygotic determinants is directed by maternal gene products. the earliest zygotic control is by gap genes, which determine regions of several contiguous segments and are largely conserved in insects. we have asked genetically whether early zygotic patterning genes control similar anteroposterior domains in the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis as in drosophila. nasonia is advantageous ... | 1999 | 9895318 |
| reciprocal inheritance of centrosomes in the parthenogenetic hymenopteran nasonia vitripennis. | in the majority of animals, the centrosome-the microtubule-organizing center of the cell-is assembled from components of both the sperm and the egg. how the males of the insect order hymenoptera acquire centrosomes is a mystery, as they originate from virgin birth. | 2000 | 11102802 |
| do wolbachia influence fecundity in nasonia vitripennis? | this paper reports the influence of a vertically transmitted symbiont, wolbachia, on host fitness in the parasitic wasp, nasonia vitripennis. we measured fecundities of uninfected strains and strains infected with either two wolbachia variants (wav,wbv) or one (wav or wbv). preliminary tests suggested that double-infected females produce more offspring on average than uninfected females. however, further studies failed to yield consistent fitness effects. to control for host genetic effects, the ... | 2000 | 10692011 |
| cold hardiness of the fly pupal parasitoid nasonia vitripennis is enhanced by its host sarcophaga crassipalpis. | supercooling points (scps) and low temperature survival were determined for diapausing and nondiapausing larvae of the ectoparasitoid nasonia vitripennis. neither nondiapausing nor diapausing larvae could survive tissue freezing. the scp profiles were nearly identical for nondiapause-destined (-27 degrees c) and diapausing larvae (-25 degrees c), but these values were not indicative of the lower limits of tolerance in either type of larvae: larvae were killed by chilling at temperatures well abo ... | 2000 | 12770263 |
| role of delayed nuclear envelope breakdown and mitosis in wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility. | the bacterium wolbachia manipulates reproduction in millions of insects worldwide; the most common effect is cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci). we found that ci resulted from delayed nuclear envelope breakdown of the male pronucleus in nasonia vitripennis. this caused asynchrony between the male and female pronuclei and, ultimately, loss of paternal chromosomes at the first mitosis. when wolbachia were present in the egg, synchrony was restored, which explains suppression of ci in these crosses. ... | 2002 | 12004132 |
| upregulation of transcripts encoding select heat shock proteins in the flesh fly sarcophaga crassipalpis in response to venom from the ectoparasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis. | 2002 | 12054789 | |
| the ectoparasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis (walker) (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) differentially affects cells mediating the immune response of its flesh fly host, sarcophaga bullata parker (diptera: sarcophagidae). | in this study, we examined cellular immune responses in the flesh fly, sarcophaga bullata, when parasitized by the ectoparasitoid nasonia vitripennis. in unparasitized, young pharate adults and third instar, wandering larvae of s. bullata, four main hemocyte types were identified by light microscopy: plasmatocytes, granular cells, oenocytoids, and pro-hemocytes. parasitism of young pharate adults had a differential effect on host hemocytes; oenocytoids and pro-hemocytes appeared to be unaltered ... | 2002 | 12770028 |
| temperature-related development of the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis as forensic indicator. | development times of the forensically significant parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis (walker) (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) from oviposition to pupation, and from oviposition to adult emergence, were studied in the laboratory at temperatures of 15-35 degrees c using host pupae of the blowfly protophormia terraenovae (robineau-desvoidy) (diptera: calliphoridae). total developmental time of n. vitripennis from oviposition to adult emergence (mean+/-sd) was 43.5+/-2.4, 22.5+/-1.1, 14.8+/-1.7 and 11.3 ... | 2003 | 12941009 |
| [microhimenopteran parasitoids of chrysomya megacephala found in brazil]. | the study was carried out with the purpose of identifying the main parasitoids of chrysomya megacephala in the city of rio de janeiro, brazil, given the importance of these flies as vectors of pathogenic agents in the urban environment. samplings were conducted every week from august 1999 to july 2000. the substrate used to grow fly pupae and to trap parasitoids was decomposing meat. it was identified three species of microhimenopterans: tachinaephagus zealandicus (encyrtidae), pachycrepoideus v ... | 2003 | 14666314 |
| the jewel wasp nasonia: querying the genome with haplo-diploid genetics. | the jewel wasp nasonia vitripennis is considered the "drosophila melanogaster of the hymenoptera." this diminutive wasp offers insect geneticists a means for applying haplo-diploid genetics to the analysis of developmental processes. as in bees, haploid males develop from unfertilized eggs, while diploid females develop from fertilized eggs. nasonia's advantageous combination of haplo-diploid genetics and ease of handling in the laboratory facilitates screening the entire genome for recessive mu ... | 2003 | 12640624 |
| [parasitoids of chrysomya megacephala (fabricius) collected in itumbiara, goias, brazil]. | this study determined the species of parasitoids associated with chrysomya megacephala, collected on bovine kidney baits, in itumbiara, state of goias, brazil. the pupae were obtained by flotation. they were individually placed in gelatin capsules until the emergence of the adult flies or their parasitoids. the overall prevalence of parasitism was 18.6%. brachymeria podagrica, nasonia vitripennis and pachycrepoideus vindemiae presented frequencies of 8.6%, 8.6% and 1.4%, respectively. this work ... | 2004 | 15122391 |
| bacteriophage flux in endosymbionts (wolbachia): infection frequency, lateral transfer, and recombination rates. | the highly specialized genomes of bacterial endosymbionts typically lack one of the major contributors of genomic flux in the free-living microbial world-bacteriophages. this study yields three results that show bacteriophages have, to the contrary, been influential in the genome evolution of the most prevalent bacterial endosymbiont of invertebrates, wolbachia. first, we show that bacteriophage wo is more widespread in wolbachia than previously recognized, occurring in at least 89% (35/39) of t ... | 2004 | 15254259 |
| winter survival of nuisance fly parasitoids (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) in canada and denmark. | independent studies were performed in canada and in denmark to assess the survival of parasitic wasps (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) wintering in puparia of house fly, musca domestica linnaeus (diptera: muscidae). data in canada were collected for muscidifurax raptorgirault & saunders, m. raptorellus kogan & legner, m. zaraptor kogan & legner, nasonia vitripennis(walker), spalangia cameroni perkins, trichomalopsis sarcophagae (gahan) and urolepis rufipes (ashmead) in three microsites at an outdoor ... | 2004 | 15301698 |
| disruption of pupariation and eclosion behavior in the flesh fly, sarcophaga bullata parker (diptera: sarcophagidae), by venom from the ectoparasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis (walker) (hymenoptera: pteromalidae). | the action of venom from the ectoparasitic wasp, nasonia vitripennis, was monitored by examining alterations in patterned muscular movements characteristic of pupariation and eclosion behavior in the flesh fly, sarcophaga bullata. venom injected into larvae prior to pupariation caused a dose-dependent delay in pupariation. eventually, such larvae did pupariate, but puparia were abnormally formed. barographic records revealed that all elements of pupariation behavior were present in venom-injecte ... | 2004 | 15378569 |
| comparative venom toxicity between pteromalus puparum and nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) toward the hemocytes of their natural hosts, non-target insects and cultured insect cells. | crude venoms from two parasitoid species, pteromalus puparum and nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) were assayed for biological activities toward hemocytes from two species of their natural hosts and eight species of their non-natural hosts as well as two lines of cultured lepidoptera cells, respectively. by inhibiting the spreading and viability of insect hemocytes, the venom from p. puparum displayed significantly higher activities toward plasmatocytes and granular cells from both ... | 2005 | 16026808 |
| effects of deletions on mitotic stability of the paternal-sex-ratio (psr) chromosome from nasonia. | paternal-sex-ratio (psr) is a b chromosome that causes all-male offspring in the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis. it is only transmitted via sperm of carrier males and destroys the other paternal chromosomes during the first mitotic division of the fertilized egg. because of haplodiploidy, the effect of psr is to convert diploid (female) eggs into haploid eggs that develop into psr-bearing males. the psr chromosome was previously found to contain several families of repetitive dna, which app ... | 2005 | 1291226 |
| the tripartite associations between bacteriophage, wolbachia, and arthropods. | by manipulating arthropod reproduction worldwide, the heritable endosymbiont wolbachia has spread to pandemic levels. little is known about the microbial basis of cytoplasmic incompatibility (ci) except that bacterial densities and percentages of infected sperm cysts associate with incompatibility strength. the recent discovery of a temperate bacteriophage (wo-b) of wolbachia containing ankyrin-encoding genes and virulence factors has led to intensifying debate that bacteriophage wo-b induces ci ... | 2006 | 16710453 |
| [synanthropic flies (diptera: cyclorrapha) and their microhymenoptera parasitoids (insecta: hymenoptera) at monte mor poultry production system, são paulo, brazil]. | a survey of synanthropic flies and their microhymenopteran parasitoids was conducted at the capuavinha poultry farm, municipality of monte mor, state of são paulo, brazil, from 1991 to 1992. bird manure samples were collected biweekly for examined and selected by the following methods: flotation in water, dissected pupae, and sentinel pupae. the species of flies more abundant were: chrysomya putoria (wiedeman) (41.2% - calliphoridae), muscidae: muscina stabulans( fallén) (27.3%), musca domestica ... | 2006 | 16834896 |
| [register of aphaereta laeviuscula (spinola) (hymenoptera: braconidae) and nasonia vitripennis (walker) (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) as parasitoids of cochliomyia hominivorax (coquerel) (diptera: calliphoridae), in the state of rio de janeiro, brazil]. | the captures occurred between january and december of 2004 in urban area in the city of nova iguaçu, the rural area of the city of seropédica and in a forest area in the biological reserve of the tinguá, nova iguaçu state of rio de janeiro. the total of 1,528 larvae of cochliomyia hominivorax (coquerel) were used as bait, 505 in the urban area, 556 in rural and the 467 in the forest one. the indices of synantropic, coefficient of constancy, the risk (odds ratio) of parasitism between the areas w ... | 2006 | 18575703 |
| wasps, beetles and the beginning of the ends. | recent papers investigating the genes regulating early embryogenesis in the wasp nasonia vitripennis and the beetle tribolium castaneum have provided us with important clues as to how early development is controlled in insects other than higher dipterans such as drosophila melanogaster. the results of these studies demonstrate that in insects that do not have bicoid, anterior patterning is regulated by a combination of maternal orthodenticle and hunchback. furthermore, during the evolution of lo ... | 2006 | 16850399 |
| the origin of centrosomes in parthenogenetic hymenopteran insects. | a longstanding enigma has been the origin of maternal centrosomes that facilitate parthenogenetic development in hymenopteran insects. in young embryos, hundreds of microtubule-organizing centers (mtocs) are assembled completely from maternal components. two of these mtocs join the female pronucleus to set up the first mitotic spindle in unfertilized embryos and drive their development. these mtocs appear to be canonical centrosomes because they contain gamma-tubulin, cp190, and centrioles and t ... | 2006 | 16631588 |
| additional evidence for the genomic imprinting model of sex determination in the haplodiploid wasp nasonia vitripennis: isolation of biparental diploid males after x-ray mutagenesis. | the primary sex-determining signal in the haplodiploid wasp nasonia vitripennis is not known. in haplodiploid reproduction, unfertilized eggs typically develop into uniparental haploid males and fertilized eggs into biparental diploid females. although this reproductive strategy is common to all hymenoptera, sex-determination is not strictly specified by the number of genome copies inherited. furthermore, primary sex-determining signals differ among haplodiploid species. in the honeybee, for exa ... | 2006 | 16552430 |
| characterization of phenoloxidase activity in venom from the ectoparasitoid nasonia vitripennis (walker) (hymenoptera: pteromalidae). | crude venom isolated from the ectoparasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis was found to possess phenoloxidase (po) activity. enzyme activity was detected by using a modified dot blot analysis approach in which venom samples were applied to nylon membranes and incubated with either l-dopa or dopamine. dot formation was most intense with dopamine as the substrate and no activators appeared to be necessary to evoke a melanization reaction. no melanization occurred when venom was incubated in schneider's ... | 2007 | 17054979 |
| haploid females in the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis. | the insect order of hymenoptera (ants, bees, sawflies, and wasps) consists almost entirely of haplodiploid species. under haplodiploidy, males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, whereas females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid. although diploid males commonly occur, haploid females have never been reported. in analyzing the phenomenon of gynandromorphism in the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis, we found a line that generates complete phenotypic females from unfertiliz ... | 2007 | 17218519 |
| [parasitoids of muscoids diptera collected at alvorada slaughterhouse in itumbiara, south of goiás, brazil]. | species of parasitoids associated with synanthropic flies were trapped by using chopped bovine liver as bites at slaughterhouse itumbiara in the state of goiás, from march to december 2005. pupae were obtained by removing them from sand, after using liver baits as substract to atract flies. they were individually placed in gelatin capsules until the emergency of the adult flies or their parasitoids. the overall prevalence of parasitism was 15.3%. the frequency, percentage and species of parasito ... | 2007 | 18373902 |
| evolution of the insect sox genes. | the sox gene family of transcriptional regulators have essential roles during development and have been extensively studied in vertebrates. the mouse, human and fugu genomes contain at least 20 sox genes, which are subdivided into groups based on sequence similarity of the highly conserved hmg domain. in the well-studied insect drosophila melanogaster, eight sox genes have been identified and are involved in processes such as neurogenesis, dorsal-ventral patterning and segmentation. | 2008 | 18439299 |
| cloning and identification of an oxytocin/vasopressin-like receptor and its ligand from insects. | more than 20 years ago, an oxytocin/vasopressin-like peptide, clitncprgamide, was isolated from the locust, locusta migratoria [proux jp, et al. (1987) identification of an arginine vasopressin-like diuretic hormone from locusta migratoria. biochem biophys res commun 149:180-186]. however, no similar peptide could be identified in other insects, nor could its prohormone be cloned, or its physiological actions be established. here, we report that the recently sequenced genome from the red flour b ... | 2008 | 18316733 |
| wolbachia modification of sperm does not always require residence within developing sperm. | wolbachia are maternally inherited intracellular bacteria known to manipulate the reproduction of their arthropod hosts. wolbachia commonly affect the sperm of infected arthropods. wolbachia-modified sperm cannot successfully fertilize unless the female is infected with the same wolbachia type. a study of spermatogenesis in the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis reveals that wolbachia are not required in individual spermatocytes or spermatids to modify sperm. in n. vitripennis, wolbachia modify ... | 2008 | 18648384 |
| rapidly evolving mitochondrial genome and directional selection in mitochondrial genes in the parasitic wasp nasonia (hymenoptera: pteromalidae). | we sequenced the nearly complete mtdna of 3 species of parasitic wasps, nasonia vitripennis (2 strains), nasonia giraulti, and nasonia longicornis, including all 13 protein-coding genes and the 2 rrnas, and found unusual patterns of mitochondrial evolution. the nasonia mtdna has a unique gene order compared with other insect mtdnas due to multiple rearrangements. the mtdnas of these wasps also show nucleotide substitution rates over 30 times faster than nuclear protein-coding genes, indicating a ... | 2008 | 18653734 |
| a bacterium targets maternally inherited centrosomes to kill males in nasonia. | male killing is caused by diverse microbial taxa in a wide range of arthropods. this phenomenon poses important challenges to understanding the dynamics of sex ratios and host-pathogen interactions. however, the mechanisms of male killing are largely unknown. evidence from one case in drosophila suggests that bacteria can target components of the male-specific sex-determination pathway. here, we investigated male killing by the bacterium arsenophonus nasoniae in the haplo-diploid wasp nasonia vi ... | 2008 | 18804376 |
| plasticity in mrna expression and localization of orthodenticle within higher diptera. | orthodenticle (otd) genes are found throughout the animal kingdom and encode well-studied homeodomain transcription factors that share conserved functions in cephalization, head segmentation, brain patterning, and the differentiation of photoreceptors. otd proteins have been proposed as ancestral key players in anterior determination despite a high level of variation in gene expression at early developmental stages: otd is expressed strictly zygotically in the dipteran drosophila melanogaster, w ... | 2008 | 19021740 |
| an epoxide hydrolase involved in the biosynthesis of an insect sex attractant and its use to localize the production site. | epoxide hydrolases (ehs) are enzymes occurring in virtually any living organism. they catalyze the hydrolysis of epoxide containing lipids and are involved in crucial mechanisms, such as the detoxification of xenobiotics or the regulation of inflammation and blood pressure. here, we describe a function of a putative eh gene in the biosynthesis of a sex attractant in the jewel wasp nasonia vitripennis and use this gene to localize the site of pheromone production. males of this parasitic wasp rel ... | 2008 | 18579785 |
| sex determination in the hymenoptera. | the dominant and ancestral mode of sex determination in the hymenoptera is arrhenotokous parthenogenesis, in which diploid females develop from fertilized eggs and haploid males develop from unfertilized eggs. we discuss recent progress in the understanding of the genetic and cytoplasmic mechanisms that make arrhenotoky possible. the best-understood mode of sex determination in the hymenoptera is complementary sex determination (csd), in which diploid males are produced under conditions of inbre ... | 2008 | 17803453 |
| the evolution of developmental gene networks: lessons from comparative studies on holometabolous insects. | recent comparative studies have revealed significant differences in the developmental gene networks operating in three holometabolous insects: the beetle tribolium castaneum, the parasitic wasp nasonia vitripennis and the fruitfly drosophila melanogaster. i discuss these differences in relation to divergent and convergent changes in cellular embryology. i speculate on how segmentation gene networks have evolved to operate in divergent embryological contexts, and highlight the role that co-option ... | 2008 | 18192180 |
| quercetin-metabolizing cyp6as enzymes of the pollinator apis mellifera (hymenoptera: apidae). | although the honey bee (apis mellifera) genome contains far fewer cytochrome p450 genes associated with xenobiotic metabolism than other insect genomes sequenced to date, the cyp6as subfamily, apparently unique to hymenopterans, has undergone an expansion relative to the genome of the jewel wasp (nasonia vitripennis). the relative dominance of this family in the honey bee genome is suggestive of a role in processing phytochemicals encountered by honey bees in their relatively unusual diet of hon ... | 2009 | 19737624 |
| the fruitless gene in nasonia displays complex sex-specific splicing and contains new zinc finger domains. | the transcription factor fruitless exerts a broad range of functions during drosophila development, the most apparent of which is the determination of sexual behavior in males. although fruitless sequences are found in other insect orders, little is known about fruitless structure and function outside diptera. we have performed a thorough analysis of fruitless transcripts in the haplo-diploid wasp nasonia vitripennis and found both sex-specific and non-sex-specific transcripts similar to those f ... | 2009 | 19349644 |
| deciphering proteomic signatures of early diapause in nasonia. | insect diapause is an alternative life-history strategy used to increase longevity and survival in harsh environmental conditions. even though some aspects of diapause are well investigated, broader scale studies that elucidate the global metabolic adjustments required for this remarkable trait, are rare. in order to better understand the metabolic changes during early insect diapause, we used a shotgun proteomics approach on early diapausing and non-diapausing larvae of the recently sequenced h ... | 2009 | 19636376 |
| evolution of the sugar receptors in insects. | perception of sugars is an invaluable ability for insects which often derive quickly accessible energy from these molecules. a distinctive subfamily of eight proteins within the gustatory receptor (gr) family has been identified as sugar receptors (srs) in drosophila melanogaster (gr5a, gr61a, and gr64a-f). we examined the evolution of these srs within the 12 available drosophila genome sequences, as well as three mosquito, two moth, and beetle, bee, and wasp genome sequences. | 2009 | 19226470 |
| a case for sequencing the genome of musca domestica (diptera: muscidae). | house flies are carriers of >100 devastating diseases that have severe consequences for human and animal health. despite the fact that it is a passive vector, a key bottleneck to progress in controlling the human diseases transmitted by house flies is lack of knowledge of the basic molecular biology of this species. sequencing of the house fly genome will provide important inroads to the discovery of novel target sites for house fly control, understanding of the house fly immune response, rapid ... | 2009 | 19351068 |
| reconstructing the phylogeny of 21 completely sequenced arthropod species based on their motor proteins. | motor proteins have extensively been studied in the past and consist of large superfamilies. they are involved in diverse processes like cell division, cellular transport, neuronal transport processes, or muscle contraction, to name a few. vertebrates contain up to 60 myosins and about the same number of kinesins that are spread over more than a dozen distinct classes. | 2009 | 19383156 |
| evolutionary conservation and changes in insect trp channels. | trp (transient receptor potential) channels respond to diverse stimuli and thus function as the primary integrators of varied sensory information. they are also activated by various compounds and secondary messengers to mediate cell-cell interactions as well as to detect changes in the local environment. their physiological roles have been primarily characterized only in mice and fruit flies, and evolutionary studies are limited. to understand the evolution of insect trp channels and the mechani ... | 2009 | 19740447 |
| hymenopteran parasitoids of forensic importance: host associations, seasonality, and prevalence of parasitoids of carrion flies in western australia. | a 2-yr survey of hymenopteran parasitoids associated with carrion-breeding flies was conducted to establish the parasitoid species of potential forensic significance in western australia. host associations, seasonality, and rates of parasitism in the field were examined to assess the value of the identified parasitoids as forensic indicators of time since death. four species of parasitoid emerged from dipteran specimens collected from carcasses: tachinaephagus zealandicus ashmead (encryptidae), ... | 2009 | 19769056 |
| durations of immature stage development period of nasonia vitripennis (walker) (hymenoptera: pteromalidae) under laboratory conditions: implications for forensic entomology. | some microhymenopterans are parasitoids of flies of forensic importance. their parasitic habit can alter the duration of post-embryonic development of these flies, altering the postmortem interval. in order to analyze possible alterations occurring during the immature development period of nasonia vitripennis, this study tested different quantitative associations between female parasitoids and pupae of chrysomya megacephala, which were defined by: (a) one pupa was exposed to different numbers of ... | 2009 | 18972132 |
| the parasitoid wasp nasonia: an emerging model system with haploid male genetics. | nasonia is a complex of four closely related species of wasps that is rapidly emerging as a model for evolutionary and developmental genetics. it has several features that make it an excellent genetic system, including a short generation time, ease of rearing, interfertile species, visible and molecular markers, and a sequenced genome. the form of sex determination, called "haplodiploidy," makes nasonia particularly suitable as a genetic tool. females are diploid and develop from fertilized eggs ... | 2009 | 20147035 |
| strain maintenance of nasonia vitripennis (parasitoid wasp). | nasonia is a complex of four closely related species of wasps with several features that make it an excellent system for a variety of genetic studies. these include a short generation time, ease of rearing, interfertile species, visible and molecular markers, and a sequenced genome. furthermore, its parasitoid lifestyle allows investigations of questions relating to parasitoid/host dynamics, host preference, and specialist versus generalist biology. it also can serve as a behavior model for stud ... | 2009 | 20147052 |
| rearing sarcophaga bullata fly hosts for nasonia (parasitoid wasp). | nasonia is a complex of four closely related species of wasps with several features that make it an excellent system for a variety of genetic studies. these include a short generation time, ease of rearing, interfertile species, visible and molecular markers, and a sequenced genome. it also can serve as a behavior model for studies of courtship, male aggression and territoriality, female dispersal, and sex ratio control. nasonia vitripennis is a parasitoid of a number of calliphorid flies, such ... | 2009 | 20147053 |
| two novel proteins expressed by the venom glands of apis mellifera and nasonia vitripennis share an ancient c1q-like domain. | an in-depth proteomic study of previously unidentified two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis spots of honey bee (apis mellifera, hymenoptera) venom revealed a new protein with a c1q conserved domain (c1q-vp). blastp searching revealed a strong identity with only two proteins from other insect species: the jewel wasp, nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera), and the green pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum (hemiptera). in higher organisms, c1q is the first subcomponent of the classical complem ... | 2010 | 20167013 |
| the draft genome sequence of arsenophonus nasoniae, son-killer bacterium of nasonia vitripennis, reveals genes associated with virulence and symbiosis. | four percent of female nasonia vitripennis carry the son-killer bacterium arsenophonus nasoniae, a microbe with notably different biology from other inherited parasites and symbionts. in this paper, we examine a draft genome sequence of the bacterium for open reading frames (orfs), structures and pathways involved in interactions with its insect host. the genome data suggest that a. nasoniae carries multiple type iii secretion systems, and an array of toxin and virulence genes found in photorhab ... | 2010 | 20167018 |
| characteristics of the genome of arsenophonus nasoniae, son-killer bacterium of the wasp nasonia. | we report the properties of a draft genome sequence of the bacterium arsenophonus nasoniae, son-killer bacterium of nasonia vitripennis. the genome sequence data from this study are the first for a male-killing bacterium, and represent a microorganism that is unusual compared with other sequenced symbionts, in having routine vertical and horizontal transmission, two alternating hosts, and being culturable on cell-free media. the resulting sequence totals c. 3.5 mbp and is annotated to contain 33 ... | 2010 | 20167019 |
| a defensin antimicrobial peptide from the venoms of nasonia vitripennis. | although many antimicrobial components (i.e. antimicrobial peptides) have been found in many social hymenoptera venoms, no antimicrobial compound is purified and characterized from parasitic hymenoptera. from the venoms of the ectoparasitic wasp, nasonia vitripennis, a defensin-like antimicrobial peptide named defensin-nv was purified and characterized. defensin-nv is composed of 52 amino acid residues including 6 cysteines forming 3 disulfide bridges. its amino acid sequence is vtcellmfggvvgdsa ... | 2010 | 20362606 |
| chitinase-like proteins encoded in the genome of the pea aphid, acyrthosiphon pisum. | in insects, chitinases play an essential role in the degradation of old exoskeleton and turnover of the gut lining. in silico screening of the entire genome of the pea aphid (hemimetabola), acyrthosiphon pisum, detected nine genes encoding putative chitinase-like proteins, including six enzymatically active chitinases, one imaginal disc growth factor, and one endo-beta-n-acetylglucosaminidase. screening of the genomes of aedes aegypti, anopheles gambiae, apis mellifera, bombyx mori, culex quinqu ... | 2010 | 20482649 |
| suppression subtractive hybridization analysis reveals expression of conserved and novel genes in male accessory glands of the ant leptothorax gredleri. | during mating, insect males eject accessory gland proteins (acps) into the female genital tract. these substances are known to affect female post-mating behavior and physiology. in addition, they may harm the female, e.g., in reducing its lifespan. this is interpreted as a consequence of sexual antagonistic co-evolution. whereas sexual conflict abounds in non-social species, the peculiar life history of social insects (ants, bees, wasps) with lifelong pair-bonding and no re-mating aligns the rep ... | 2010 | 20825642 |
| the transformer gene of ceratitis capitata: a paradigm for a conserved epigenetic master regulator of sex determination in insects. | the transformer gene in ceratitis capitata (cctra(ep)) is the founding member of a family of related sr genes that appear to act as the master epigenetic switch in sex determination in insects. a functional protein seems to be produced only in individuals with a female xx karyotype where it is required to maintain the productive mode of expression through a positive feedback loop and to direct female development by instructing the downstream target genes accordingly. when zygotic activation of t ... | 2010 | 20890720 |
| the host range of the male-killing symbiont arsenophonus nasoniae in filth fly parasitioids. | the son-killer bacterium, arsenophonus nasoniae, infects nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera: pteromalidae), a parasitic wasp that attacks filth flies. this gammaproteobacterium kills a substantial amount of male embryos produced by an infected female. aside from male death, the bacterium does not measurably affect the host, and how it is maintained in the host population is unknown. interestingly, this bacterial symbiont can be transmitted both vertically (from mother to offspring) and horizontall ... | 2010 | 21147118 |
| molecular cloning, characterization, and expression analysis of an estrogen receptor-related receptor homologue in the cricket, teleogryllus emma. | the estrogen receptor-related receptors (errs) are a group of nuclear receptors that were originally identified on the basis of sequence similarity to estrogen receptors. the three mammalian err genes have been implicated in diverse physiological processes ranging from placental development to maintenance of bone density, but the function and regulation of errs in invertebrates are not well understood. a homologue of human err was isolated from the cricket teleogryllus emma (ohmachi and matsumur ... | 2010 | 21265615 |
| venom proteins of the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis: recent discovery of an untapped pharmacopee. | adult females of nasonia vitripennis inject a venomous mixture into its host flies prior to oviposition. recently, the entire genome of this ectoparasitoid wasp was sequenced, enabling the identification of 79 venom proteins. the next challenge will be to unravel their specific functions, but based on homolog studies, some predictions already can be made. parasitization has an enormous impact on hosts physiology of which five major effects are discussed in this review: the impact on immune respo ... | 2010 | 22069597 |
| cool-weather activity of the forensically important hairy maggot blow fly chrysomya rufifacies (macquart) (diptera: calliphoridae) on carrion in upstate south carolina, united states. | the hairy maggot blow fly chrysomya rufifacies (macquart) (diptera: calliphoridae) has expanded its range in the united states since its introduction into texas (ca. 1980) and has been collected in 15 states. we investigated the bionomics of immature and adult c. rufifacies collected from carcasses of a raccoon procyon lotor (linnaeus) and white-tailed deer odocoileus virginianus zimmerman in upstate south carolina during november 2007, and used these insects to estimate the minimum period of in ... | 2010 | 20042303 |
| discovery of a novel insect neuropeptide signaling system closely related to the insect adipokinetic hormone and corazonin hormonal systems. | neuropeptides and their g protein-coupled receptors (gpcrs) play a central role in the physiology of insects. one large family of insect neuropeptides are the adipokinetic hormones (akhs), which mobilize lipids and carbohydrates from the insect fat body. other peptides are the corazonins that are structurally related to the akhs but represent a different neuropeptide signaling system. we have previously cloned an orphan gpcr from the malaria mosquito anopheles gambiae that was structurally inter ... | 2010 | 20068045 |
| functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid nasonia species. | we report here genome sequences and comparative analyses of three closely related parasitoid wasps: nasonia vitripennis, n. giraulti, and n. longicornis. parasitoids are important regulators of arthropod populations, including major agricultural pests and disease vectors, and nasonia is an emerging genetic model, particularly for evolutionary and developmental genetics. key findings include the identification of a functional dna methylation tool kit; hymenopteran-specific genes including diverse ... | 2010 | 20075255 |
| the genetic basis of interspecies host preference differences in the model parasitoid nasonia. | the genetic basis of host preference has been investigated in only a few species. it is relevant to important questions in evolutionary biology, including sympatric speciation, generalist versus specialist adaptation, and parasite-host co-evolution. here we show that a major locus strongly influences host preference in nasonia. nasonia are parasitic wasps that utilize fly pupae; nasonia vitripennis is a generalist that parasitizes a diverse set of hosts, whereas nasonia giraulti specializes in p ... | 2010 | 20087393 |
| phylogeography of nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera) indicates a mitochondrial-wolbachia sweep in north america. | here we report evidence of a mitochondrial-wolbachia sweep in north american populations of the parasitoid wasp nasonia vitripennis, a cosmopolitan species and emerging model organism for evolutionary and genetic studies. analysis of the genetic variation of 89 n. vitripennis specimens from europe and north america was performed using four types of genetic markers: a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase i gene, nine polymorphic nuclear microsatellites, sequences from 11 single-copy nu ... | 2010 | 20087396 |
| antimicrobial peptide-like genes in nasonia vitripennis: a genomic perspective. | antimicrobial peptides (amps) are an essential component of innate immunity which can rapidly respond to diverse microbial pathogens. insects, as a rich source of amps, attract great attention of scientists in both understanding of the basic biology of the immune system and searching molecular templates for anti-infective drug design. despite a large number of amps have been identified from different insect species, little information in terms of these peptides is available from parasitic insect ... | 2010 | 20302637 |
| functional characterization of transcription factor motifs using cross-species comparison across large evolutionary distances. | we address the problem of finding statistically significant associations between cis-regulatory motifs and functional gene sets, in order to understand the biological roles of transcription factors. we develop a computational framework for this task, whose features include a new statistical score for motif scanning, the use of different scores for predicting targets of different motifs, and new ways to deal with redundancies among significant motif-function associations. this framework is applie ... | 2010 | 20126523 |
| 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 |
| maternal control of haplodiploid sex determination in the wasp nasonia. | all insects in the order hymenoptera have haplodiploid sex determination, in which males emerge from haploid unfertilized eggs and females are diploid. sex determination in the honeybee apis mellifera is controlled by the complementary sex determination (csd) locus, but the mechanisms controlling sex determination in other hymenoptera without csd are unknown. we identified the sex-determination system of the parasitic wasp nasonia, which has no csd locus. instead, maternal input of nasonia vitri ... | 2010 | 20431014 |
| inventory and phylogenomic distribution of meiotic genes in nasonia vitripennis and among diverse arthropods. | the parasitoid jewel wasp nasonia vitripennis reproduces by haplodiploidy (arrhenotokous parthenogenesis). in diploid females, meiosis occurs during oogenesis, but in haploid males spermatogenesis is ameiotic and involves a single equational division. here we describe the phylogenomic distribution of meiotic genes in n. vitripennis and in 10 additional arthropods. homologues for 39 meiosis-related genes (including seven meiosis-specific genes) were identified in n. vitripennis. the meiotic genes ... | 2010 | 20167026 |
| metabolic enzymes associated with xenobiotic and chemosensory responses in nasonia vitripennis. | the numbers of glutathione s-transferase, cytochrome p450 and esterase genes in the genome of the hymenopteran parasitoid nasonia vitripennis are about twice those found in the genome of another hymenopteran, the honeybee apis mellifera. some of the difference is associated with clades of these families implicated in xenobiotic resistance in other insects and some is in clades implicated in hormone and pheromone metabolism. the data support the hypothesis that the eusocial behaviour of the honey ... | 2010 | 20167025 |
| the insect chemoreceptor superfamily of the parasitoid jewel wasp nasonia vitripennis. | chemoreception is important for locating food, mates and other resources in many insects, including the parasitoid jewel wasp nasonia vitripennis. in the insect chemoreceptor superfamily, nasonia has 58 gustatory receptor (gr) genes, of which 11 are pseudogenes, leaving 47 apparently intact proteins encoded. no carbon dioxide receptors, two candidate sugar receptors, a dmgr43a orthologue, and several additional gr lineages were identified, including significant gene subfamily expansions related ... | 2010 | 20167023 |
| identification and characterization of nasonia pax genes. | pax genes are a group of critical developmental transcriptional regulators in both invertebrates and vertebrates, characterized by the presence of a paired dna-binding domain. pax proteins also often contain an octapeptide motif and a c-terminal homeodomain. the genome of nasonia vitripennis (hymenoptera) has recently become available, and analysis of this genome alongside apis mellifera allowed us to contribute to the phylogeny of this gene family in insects. nasonia, a parasitic wasp, has inde ... | 2010 | 20167022 |
| the distribution of microsatellites in the nasonia parasitoid wasp genome. | microsatellites are important molecular markers used in numerous genetic contexts. despite this widespread use, the evolutionary processes governing microsatellite distribution and diversity remain controversial. here, we present results on the distribution of microsatellites of three species in the parasitic wasp genus nasonia generated by an in silico data-mining approach. our results show that the overall microsatellite density in nasonia is comparable to that of the honey bee, but much highe ... | 2010 | 20167020 |
| transfers of mitochondrial dna to the nuclear genome in the wasp nasonia vitripennis. | many organisms carry nuclear sequences of mitochondrial origin (numts). we have identified 76 numts in 25 genomic locations in the jewel wasp nasonia vitripennis. the total amount of numts in nasonia is 42 972 bp exceeding over four-fold that found in tribolium castaneum and almost fifty-fold that found in drosophila melanogaster, whereas apis mellifera has an even larger number of numts in its genome (over 230 kb). the nasonia numts were inserted by multiple independent events and frequently in ... | 2010 | 20167015 |
| the cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel gene superfamily of the parasitoid wasp, nasonia vitripennis. | members of the cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel (cyslgic) superfamily mediate chemical neurotransmission and are studied extensively as potential targets of drugs used to treat neurological disorders, such as alzheimer's disease. insect cys-loop lgics also have central roles in the nervous system and are targets of highly successful insecticides. here, we describe the cyslgic superfamily of the parasitoid wasp, nasonia vitripennis, which is emerging as a highly useful model organism and is depl ... | 2010 | 20087392 |
| egf signaling and the origin of axial polarity among the insects. | the eggs of insects are unusual in that they often have bilateral symmetry when they are laid, indicating that both anterior-posterior (ap) and dorsal-ventral (dv) symmetries are broken during oogenesis. the molecular basis of this process is well understood in drosophila melanogaster, in which symmetry breaking events for both axes depend on the asymmetric position of the oocyte nucleus and on germline-soma signaling mediated by the tgf alpha-like epidermal growth factor (egf) ligand gurken. ge ... | 2010 | 20471269 |
| comparative analyses of dna methylation and sequence evolution using nasonia genomes. | the functional and evolutionary significance of dna methylation in insect genomes remains to be resolved. nasonia is well situated for comparative analyses of dna methylation and genome evolution, since the genomes of a moderately distant outgroup species as well as closely related sibling species are available. using direct sequencing of bisulfite-converted dna, we uncovered a substantial level of dna methylation in 17 of 18 nasonia vitripennis genes and a strong correlation between methylation ... | 2011 | 21693438 |
| improvement in the prediction of the translation initiation site through balancing methods, inclusion of acquired knowledge and addition of features to sequences of mrna. | the accurate prediction of the initiation of translation in sequences of mrna is an important activity for genome annotation. however, obtaining an accurate prediction is not always a simple task and can be modeled as a problem of classification between positive sequences (protein codifiers) and negative sequences (non-codifiers). the problem is highly imbalanced because each molecule of mrna has a unique translation initiation site and various others that are not initiators. therefore, this stu ... | 2011 | 22369295 |
| draft genome of the globally widespread and invasive argentine ant (linepithema humile). | ants are some of the most abundant and familiar animals on earth, and they play vital roles in most terrestrial ecosystems. although all ants are eusocial, and display a variety of complex and fascinating behaviors, few genomic resources exist for them. here, we report the draft genome sequence of a particularly widespread and well-studied species, the invasive argentine ant (linepithema humile), which was accomplished using a combination of 454 (roche) and illumina sequencing and community-base ... | 2011 | 21282631 |
| draft genome of the red harvester ant pogonomyrmex barbatus. | we report the draft genome sequence of the red harvester ant, pogonomyrmex barbatus. the genome was sequenced using 454 pyrosequencing, and the current assembly and annotation were completed in less than 1 y. analyses of conserved gene groups (more than 1,200 manually annotated genes to date) suggest a high-quality assembly and annotation comparable to recently sequenced insect genomes using sanger sequencing. the red harvester ant is a model for studying reproductive division of labor, phenotyp ... | 2011 | 21282651 |
| complete bacteriophage transfer in a bacterial endosymbiont (wolbachia) determined by targeted genome capture. | bacteriophage flux can cause the majority of genetic diversity in free-living bacteria. this tenet of bacterial genome evolution generally does not extend to obligate intracellular bacteria owing to their reduced contact with other microbes and a predominance of gene deletion over gene transfer. however, recent studies suggest intracellular coinfections in the same host can facilitate exchange of mobile elements between obligate intracellular bacteria-a means by which these bacteria can partiall ... | 2011 | 21292630 |