| pharmacological characterization and chemical fractionation of the venom of the ponerine ant, paraponera clavata (f.). | 1. the neurotoxic action of the venom of the ponerine ant, paraponera clavata, was studied using a cascade of mammalian smooth muscle preparations and a preparation for investigating transmission from fibres of the cercal nerve to a giant interneuron in the sixth abdominal ganglion of the cockroach. 2. the venom contains three toxic fractions that block synaptic transmission in the insect central nervous system. 3. two of these fractions have agonistic action on mammalian smooth muscle preparati ... | 1991 | 1685424 |
| poneratoxin, a novel peptide neurotoxin from the venom of the ant, paraponera clavata. | 1. at concentrations varying from 10(-8) to 10(-6) m synthetic poneratoxin (potx) is a strong, but very slowly acting agonist for smooth muscles and its blocks synaptic transmission in the insect cns in a concentration-dependent manner and depolarizes giant interneurons. 2. however, in isolated dorsal unpaired median cells 10(-6) m potx causes only a reversible hyperpolarization of about 5 mv. 3. at concentrations from 10(-8) to 10(-6) m potx affects the electrical activity of isolated cockroach ... | 1991 | 1685425 |
| [protein composition of venoms from several species of tropical ants and their effect on mitochondrial h+-atpase]. | protein compositions of venoms of south-american stinging ants, ectatomma tuberculatum, paraponera clavata (subfamily ponerinae), and "tangarana" were analyzed. the venom of e. tuberculatum displayed the most complex protein composition (more than 15 polypeptides). the water-soluble fraction of the venoms of p. clavata and "tangarana" contained acidic proteins (pi < 3.5 to 5.2), whereas the venom of e. tuberculatum contained predominantly basic proteins (pi 8 to > 9.5). n-terminal residues and n ... | 1995 | 8540897 |
| [spatial distribution of cordyceps spp. (ascomycotina: clavicipitaceae) and its impact on the ants in forests of amazonian colombian foothill]. | entomopathogenic fungi of the genus cordyceps were sampled in the foothills of the colombian amazon region (450-600 msnm altitude. january and may, 1998, i.e. dry and wet seasons, respectively). healthy and cordyceps-parasitized ants from a nearly pristine, a naturally disturbed and a human-disturbed forests were collected on 100 quadrants (1 m2) per forest. litter, shrubs and trunks were explored as substrates, and samples were gathered in vertical strata from 50 cm to 2 m high. azteca was the ... | 2001 | 12189826 |
| synergistic effects of three piper amides on generalist and specialist herbivores. | the tropical rainforest shrub piper cenocladum, which is normally defended against herbivores by a mutualistic ant, contains three amides that have various defensive functions. while the ants are effective primarily against specialist herbivores, we hypothesized that these secondary compounds would be effective against a wider range of insects, thus providing a broad array of defenses against herbivores. we also tested whether a mixture of amides would be more effective against herbivores than i ... | 2003 | 14682530 |
| a quantification of predation rates, indirect positive effects on plants, and foraging variation of the giant tropical ant, paraponera clavata. | while a clear consensus is emerging that predators can play a major role in shaping terrestrial communities, basic natural history observations and simple quantifications of predation rates in complex terrestrial systems are lacking. the potential indirect effect of a large predatory ant, paraponera clavata fabricius (formicidae: ponerinae), on herbivores was determined on rainforest trees at la selva biological station in costa rica and barro colorado island in panama. prey and other food broug ... | 2002 | 15455052 |
| circadian-rihythms in male-ants of five diverse species. | when kept at constant temperature and subjected to a daily cycle of light and darkness, males of paraponera clavata, iridomyrmex humilis, solenopsis saevissima, veromessor andrei, and camponotus clarithorax were active at different hours. with solenopsis and veromessor the active hours relative to the laboratory dawn corresponded with the hours of mating flight in the field. in four of the five species the rise preceding maximum activity began before change to light or to darkness. this endogeno ... | 1965 | 17810114 |
| a predictive distribution map for the giant tropical ant, paraponera clavata. | paraponera clavata (fabricius 1775) (formicidae: paraponerinae) is a widely distributed neotropical ant whose large size has attracted the attention of numerous collectors. working from museum specimens, a georeferenced database of collection localities was developed. this database then served as the source for computer generated predictive distribution maps. annual rainfall was the most important variable chosen by the computer model to predict the distribution of p. clavata, both on the scale ... | 2007 | 20334591 |
| linear antimicrobial peptides from ectatomma quadridens ant venom. | venoms from three poneromorph ant species (paraponera clavata, ectatomma quadridens and ectatomma tuberculatum) were investigated for the growth inhibition of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. it was shown that the venom of e. quadridens and its peptide fraction in particular possess marked antibacterial action. three linear antimicrobial peptides sharing low similarity to the well-known ponericin peptides were isolated from this ant venom by means of size-exclusion and reversed-phase ch ... | 2014 | 25220871 |