Background: Maternal RNAs play a critical role in early development. Variation in the diversity and levels of maternally derived gene transcripts may be central to the origin of phenotypic novelty – a longstanding problem in evolution and development. By studying maternal transcriptomes within and between divergent species, a better understanding of the evolutionary forces acting on maternal RN...

This study was conducted to characterize farmers' post-harvest conservation practices and identify the different storage structures, main pests of cereals in stock, as well mode application insecticides protect seeds against infestations. To these practices, we have prepared a questionnaire answering characteristics population three provinces. The grain structures our region vary depending on l...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short endogenous RNA molecules that regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level and have been shown to play critical roles during animal development. The identification and comparison of miRNAs in metazoan species are therefore paramount for our understanding of the evolution of body plans. We have characterized 203 miRNAs from the red flour beetle Tribolium...

Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is a serious pest of stored agricultural products and one of the most common insects found in grain storage and food processing facilities. Heat treatment has been revisited to control stored-product insects as a potential alternative to methyl bromide for disinfesting mills and food-processing facilities. The influence of acclimation of ...

The use of elevated temperatures (> or = 40-60 degrees C) or heat treatments for managing insects in food-processing facilities is a viable alternative to space fumigation with methyl bromide. Quantitative data are lacking on the responses of life stages of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), an important pest of food-processing facilities worldwide, to elevated temperatures use...

Segmentation is well understood in Drosophila, where all segments are determined at the blastoderm stage. In the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, as in most insects, the posterior segments are added at later stages from a posteriorly located growth zone, suggesting that formation of these segments may rely on a different mechanism. Nevertheless, the expression and function of many segmentation...

Overview: In a world of worthy candidates, there are several compelling reasons to sequence the genome of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. First and foremost, Tribolium is one of the most sophisticated genetic model organisms among all higher eukaryotes. Among arthropods, only Drosophila offers greater power and flexibility of genetic manipulation. Second, the Tribolium genome sequence...

Tribolium castaneum is an important agricultural pest and an advanced genetic model for coleopteran insects. We have taken advantage of the recently acquired T. castaneum genome to identify T. castaneum genes and proteins in one of the more critical environmental interfaces of the insect, the larval alimentary tract. Genetic transcripts isolated from the T. castaneum larval gut were labeled and...

In several insect species, seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) have been demonstrated to be key regulators of male and female fitness through their ability to alter female physiology and behaviour. Tribolium castaneum is an economically important pest species and a model system for sexual selection research, but little is known about SFPs in this insect. To create a foundation for the study of T. cas...