Concepts from evolutionary ecology have recently been applied to questions of immune defences. However, an important but often neglected aspect is the temporal dynamics of the simple immune measures used in ecological studies. Here, we present observations for workers of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris on the dynamics of the phenoloxidase (PO) system, antibacterial activity, and the total numb...

In this study, five morphological types of circulating hemocytes were recognized in the hemolymph of the adult sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae), namely prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granulocytes, adipohemocytes, and oenocytoids. The effects of the secondary metabolites of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana on cellular immune defenses of Eurygaster in...

Homogenates of salivary glands from Locusta migratoria possess phenoloxidase (PO) activity. This study investigates the activation of prophenoloxidase (PPO) in these glands in vitro. When freshly dissected salivary glands from L. migratoria are incubated with the immunogen laminarin, and then homogenized, a 4-fold increase in PO activity (expressed as a percentage of the total PO) can be measur...

In its natural coastal and estuarine environments, the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, often encounters hypoxia, accompanied by hypercapnia (increased CO2) and an associated decrease in water pH. Previous studies have shown that exposure to hypercapnic hypoxia (HH) impairs the crab's ability to remove culturable bacteria from its hemolymph. In the present study we demonstrate that the activity ...

Previously undescribed compounds, (R)-4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanol 2-O-(6-O-galloyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1) and (E)-5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pent-2-enoic acid (2), together with 20 known compounds (3-22) were isolated from the aerial parts of Calligonum mongolicum. Compound 3 was obtained a natural source for first time, all (1-22) reported time in this plant. The structural elucidation 1 2 perform...

Aeromonas hydrophila is the most common Aeromonas species causing infections in human and other animals such as amphibians, reptiles, fish and crustaceans. Pathogenesis of Aeromonas species have been reported to be associated with virulence factors such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), bacterial toxins, bacterial secretion systems, flagella, and other surface molecules. Several mutant strains of A...

Chironomids play an important role in the detritus cycle and as a component in brackish- and freshwater benthic and terrestrial food webs. If TBT is present in their environment, then they may accumulate tributyltin (TBT) during their juvenile period, which negatively affects many of their life history characteristics. The aim of this experiment is to test the effects of three TBT sediment conc...