Developmental Biology and Effects of Adult Diet on Consumption,Longevity, and Fecundity of Colaspis crinicornis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

The chrysomelid beetle Colaspis crinicornis Schaeffer (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) occurs primarily in the Great Plains region of the United States. Little is known about the biology and ecology of this species, but over the last decade, it has become increasingly common in the corn, Zea mays L., and soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill, agroecosystem of southeastern Nebraska. As part of a larger comprehensive project to understand the natural history and pest potential of this species, laboratory experiments were conducted to study the developmental biology, morphological characters of immature stages, and the effect of adult diet on consumption, longevity, and fecundity. Females readily deposited egg clusters in the soil, and percentage egg hatch was high under laboratory conditions. Larvae and pupae were confirmed to be soil-dwelling stages. C. crinicornis has relatively short egg, pupal, and adult stages with the majority of its life cycle spent in the larval stage. Results of choice and no-choice adult feeding experiments indicate that diets of corn or soybean leaves did not significantly affect consumption, longevity, or fecundity of adult C. crinicornis, suggesting that corn and soybean leaves are similarly suitable food sources for adults. The ability to effectively utilize tissues from very different plant families as adult food sources suggests that C. crinicornis is polyphagous in the field.     

Pathogenesis of acute and chronic diseases caused by cyprinid herpesvirus‐3

The pathogenesis of cyprinid herpesvirus‐3 (CyHV‐3) was studied using different lineages of carp/koi. After exposure to the virus, infected cells were first found in the skin by histopathology and by in situ hybridization. The epidermis of the skin was most severely damaged and often sloughed off in the fish sampled on days 5 through 8, and the fish that were highly sensitive to the virus died within 8 or 10 days after infection. Serum osmolality of the infected fish, particularly just before death, was significantly lower, suggesting that the osmotic shock consequent on the damage to the skin was the direct cause of the acute deaths. On the other hand, clinical and histopathological observations indicate that the carp of a less sensitive lineage most probably died of viral encephalitis around 3 weeks after infection. For these fish, the largest number of infected cells was found in the central nervous system (CNS) sampled on day 12. A substantial amount of viral genome was found in the CNS of carp surviving more than 1 year after the infection. Thus, the CNS is probably a major target for CyHV‐3, and the virus can persistently infect the CNS, presumably establishing latency.     

Available organic nitrogen in temperate, subtropical, and tropical soils extracted with different solutions

Extraction of organic N by chemical solutions has been used to assess the amount of available N in soil. We tested the efficiency of several solutions in extracting organic N from tropical, subtropical and temperate soils. A conventional 0.067 M phosphate buffer successfully extracted organic N from all 23 soils examined. High-performance size exclusion chromatograms showed a single peak at about 7,800 Da for all phosphate buffer extracts irrespective of soil types. The peak area correlated with the organic N concentration of extracts. Tropical soils had lower retention of organic N than other soils according to the conventional and sequential extraction with phosphate buffer. Organic N extracted with sulfuric acid was significantly (P < 0.001) correlated with the amount of extracted Fe, suggesting that Fe might play a role in the retention of organic N in soil.     

Apple procyanidin oligomers absorption in rats after oral administration: analysis of procyanidins in plasma using the porter method and high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, we investigated the absorption of apple procyanidins, namely, apple condensed tannins (ACTs), in rats using the Porter method and high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The apple procyanidin concentrations in the rat plasma reached a maximum 2 h after administration and decreased thereafter. To investigate the limits of the absorption of apple procyanidins in the polymerization degree, we administered the procyanidin oligomer fraction, which was separated from ACT using normal-phase chromatography according to the degree of polymerization. Procyanidins from each dimer to pentamer group were detected in the plasma by the Porter method. Moreover, by the study using reconstituted procyanidins, polymeric procyanidins influenced the absorption of procyanidin oligomers. These results suggest that ACTs are absorbed and directly involved in physiological functions in the rats.     

Biological Control Efficiency of Fusarium Wilt of Tomato by Nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo-B2 in Different Environments

ABSTRACT Efficiency of nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum Fo-B2 for the biological control of Fusarium wilt of tomato, caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici CU1, was examined in different environments: a growth chamber with sterile soil-less medium, a greenhouse with fumigated or nonfumigated soil, and nonfumigated field plots. Inoculation of Fo-B2 onto tomato roots significantly reduced the severity of disease, but the efficiency of disease suppression decreased as the experimental environment became less controlled. Relationships between the recovery of Fo-B2 from hypocotyls and the disease severity indicated that the biocontrol agent was most effective when it colonized vascular tissues intensively. Moreover, the degree of Fo-B2 colonization was greatly reduced when the seedlings were grown in nonfumigated soil. Dose-response models (negative exponential, hyperbolic saturation, and logistic) were fit to observed data collected over a range of inoculum densities of the pathogen and the antagonist; the logistic model provided the best fit in all environments. The ratios of an 50% effective dose parameter for Fo-B2 to that of CU1 increased as the environment became less controlled, suggesting that environmentally related efficiency reduction impacted the antagonist more than the pathogen. The results suggest that indigenous soil microbes were a primary factor negatively influencing the efficiency of Fo-B2. Therefore, early establishment of the antagonist in a noncompetitive environment prior to outplanting could improve the efficacy of biological control.     

High susceptibility of Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) to the infection with Babesia microti supported by hemodynamics

As the comparative study was carried out on the susceptibility by the pursuit of parasitemia among the Djungarian, Syrian, and Chinese hamsters as well as BALB/c mice infected with the Syrian hamster-adapted Babesia microti strain, and Djungarian hamsters showed the highest parasitemia among them. Then, the other hematological parameters were pursued in the Djungarian hamsters infected with the hamster-adapted B. microti strain. Remarkable symptoms observed were hemoglobinuria clinically, anemia hematologically, and splenomegaly macroscopically during all over the observation period for 24 weeks post infection (PI). Parasitemia began to rise at 2 weeks and peaked at 4 weeks PI. After that, parasitemia decreased gradually but was maintained with a level of about 10% on average until 24 weeks PI at the end of the experiment. A decrease in the RBC count, Hb, and PCV, and an increase in the reticulocyte and WBC counts due to the development of immature neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes were recognized together with a rise of parasitemia. The hamsters had macrocytic hypochromic anemia due to the increase of MCV and the decrease of MCHC in the growth phase of the parasite. It was considered that the Djungarian hamsters will be useful for the infection examination, isolation, maintenance, and passage of B. microti in laboratory.     

Results of metabolic profile test in Japanese black cattle with growth retardation

To evaluate the nutriture of Japanese black cattle with growth retardation, a metabolic profile test was carried out in 8 cattle with growth retardation and in 10 cattle with normal growth. During our observation for 1 month before blood sampling, the cattle with growth retardation ingested their forage completely. They showed lower low-density lipoprotein and albumin concentrations, and higher urea nitrogen, actoacetic acid and beta-hydroxybutyric acid concentrations than the control. There were no significant differences in glucose, free fatty acid, total cholesterol, ammonia, inorganic phosphorus, and calcium concentrations between the cattle with growth retardation and the control. These data suggested that the cattle with growth retardation subjected to energy-negative condition in spite of their good forage intake.     

Synthetic microRNA‐205 exhibited tumour suppression in spontaneous canine malignant melanoma by intratumoral injection

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small, noncoding RNA molecules consisting of 18 to 25 nucleotides. Malignant melanomas (MMs) are one of the most common malignancies in both dogs and humans. We previously reported that chemically modified synthetic miRNA‐205 (miR‐205BP/S3) inhibits melanoma growth in vitro and in vivo. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of intratumoral administration of synthetic miR‐205 for spontaneous CMMs and to evaluate its potential as systemic therapy. Ten dogs with various stages of MM were treated with miR‐205BP/S3 injected into tumours. Adverse effects (AEs) were assessed in accordance with the Veterinary Cooperative Oncology Group‐Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (VCOG‐CTCAE) v1.1 guidelines. Five cases attained complete remission (CR), three attained stable disease (SD), and two cases displayed characteristics of progressive disease (PD). In all cases, no changes were observed in the blood parameters upon miRNA administration, and miR‐205BP/S3 administration did not yield any side effects. The present results suggest that intratumoral administration of miR‐205BP/S3 is a potentially applicable treatment for canine melanoma.     

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus accumulates in vesicle-like structures in descending and ascending midgut epithelial cells of the vector whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, but not in those of nonvector whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Begomoviruses are transmitted by a single species of vector insect, the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, in a circulative manner. However, the mechanisms of this strict vector specificity have not been clarified. By immunoelectron microscopy, we showed that a begomovirus, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), can enter midgut epithelial cells of the vector whitefly B. tabaci but not those of a nonvector whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, belonging to the same family. In midgut epithelial cells of viruliferous B. tabaci, the virus was localized in vesicle-like structures, suggesting endocytosis as an entry mechanism. These structures were also observed in midgut cells of nonviruliferous B. tabaci that had fed on healthy plants and in those of the nonvector T. vaporariorum that had fed on virus-infected plants. Vesicles containing TYLCV particles were observed most frequently in cells in the anterior part of the descending midgut, suggesting that this is the major entry site. These results clearly demonstrated that the virus-containing vector and nonvector whiteflies differ in the cellular localization of the virus and strongly suggest that a critical step in determining the vector insect specificity of begomoviruses is the entry of the viruses into midgut epithelial cells.