Background: Embryonic development is one of the most critical stages in animal life. This step is strongly influenced by environmental and internal factors. The widespread uses of agricultural pesticide and their teratogenic effect on fetuses is one of the biggest health challenges facing the human. We examined the effects of Imidacloprid (IMI) and Precocene1 (PRE1) on reproductive ability in W...

The use of methanesulfonic acid as solvent and catalyst in the cyclocondensation of 1,2-dialkoxybenzenes with 3-methylbut-2-enoyl chloride to afford indanones 3, thus allowing the prepara­ tion of indenes 4 with improved overall yields, is reported. Additionally, structure of dimeric compound 7 a, formed in high yield by thermal treatment of 4a has been determined by combination of spectroscopi...

A hallmark of insect societies is a division of labor among workers specializing in different tasks. In bumblebees the division of labor is related to body size; relatively small workers are more likely to stay inside the nest and tend ("nurse") brood, whereas their larger sisters are more likely to forage. Despite their ecological and economic importance, very little is known about the endocri...

The cDNA for the hexameric hemolymph juvenile hormone-binding protein (JHBP) from the migratory locust has been cloned and sequenced. Antiserum raised against purified JHBP was used to identify clones in an expression library. The 4.3-kilobase JHBP mRNA codes for 668 amino acids (74.4 kDa) and contains 2 kilobases of 3'-untranslated region. The derived amino acid sequence reveals that locust JH...

Body size is an important phenotypic trait that correlates with performance and fitness. For determinate growing insects, body size variation is determined by growth rate and the mechanisms that stop growth at the end of juvenile growth. Endocrine mechanisms regulate growth cessation, and their relative timing along development shapes phenotypic variation in body size and development time. Larv...