Oocyte maturation in decapod crustaceans is a two step process. Primary vitellogenesis is followed by a variable hiatus that lasts up to the onset of secondary vitellogenesis, which is marked by the rapid accumulation of yolk proteins in the oocytes. We have cloned a complete Cherax quadricarinatus vitellogenin cDNA. The sequenced cDNA contains a 2584 aa open reading frame which shows sequence ...

Three dominant mutant alleles of the Polycomb locus of Drosophila melanogaster are associated with homoeotic transformations of meso- and metathoracic to prothoracic legs, a homoeotic transformation of antennae to legs, and abnormalities of wings and some thoracic bristles. Puro and Nygrén (1975) localized Polycomb in the proximal left arm of chromosome 3 within salivary gland chromosome interv...

Much like mammals use their whiskers, insects use their antennae for tactile near-range orientation during locomotion. Stick insects rapidly transfer spatial information about antennal touch location to the front legs, allowing for aimed reach-to-grasp movements. This adaptive behavior requires a spatial coordinate transformation from "antennal contact space" to "leg posture space." Therefore, ...

The antennal lobe of the sphinx moth Manduca sexta serves as a model for the development of the olfactory system. Here, the establishment of the glomerular synaptic network formed by the olfactory receptor axons and antennal lobe neurons at pupal stage P12 was followed by transection of the right antenna and - within 24 h - by injection of MnCl2 into the hemolymph. In vivo 3D MRI at 100 and 60 ...

In desert locusts Schistocerca gregaria, aggregation behaviour is elicited by aggregation pheromones. In this study, we show that the behavioural response to the major and most potent adult aggregation pheromone component, phenylacetonitrile, is age- and juvenile-hormone-dependent. Furthermore, we show that juvenile hormone influences the responsiveness of olfactory interneurons in the antennal...

Insects are equipped with various types of antennal sensilla, which house thermosensitive neurons adapted to receive different parameters of the thermal environment for a variety of temperature-guided behaviors. In the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri, the physiology and the morphology of the thermosensitive sensillum coeloconicum (Sc) has been thoroughly investigated. However, the central p...

Methanol extracts of whole body (Melampus ceylonicus), blood (Anadara rhombea) and hepatopancreas (Sepiella inermis) were screened for antifungal and cytotoxic activity. Blood of A. rhombea and hepatopancreas of S. inermis strongly inhibited Candida albicans, Mucor racemosus and Penicillium expansum. A. rhombea appear to exert strong cytotoxic activity against vertebrate erythrocytes. The bacte...

BACKGROUND Understanding the genomic basis of osmoregulation (candidate genes and/or molecular mechanisms controlling the phenotype) addresses one of the fundamental questions in evolutionary ecology. Species distributions and adaptive radiations are thought to be controlled by environmental salinity levels, and efficient osmoregulatory (ionic balance) ability is the main mechanism to overcome ...

BACKGROUND Ontogenetic variation in salinity adaptation has been noted for the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, which uses the export strategy for larval development: females migrate from the estuaries to the coast to spawn, larvae develop in the ocean, and postlarvae (megalopae) colonize estuarine areas. We hypothesized that C. sapidus larvae may be stenohaline and have limited osmoregulatory c...

Objective. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of vibrios in the hepatopancreas of cultured shrimp. Materials and methods. Vibrios from the hepatopancreas of fifteen samples of five specimens each, of apparently healthy Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were isolated, identified and quantified. Results. The vibrio density ranged from 430 to 2,400 MPN g-1 (rs MPN cm-1=-...