Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “ARTHROPODS”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Bioactive alkaloids of frog skin: combinatorial bioprospecting reveals that pumiliotoxins have an arthropod source.

Nearly 500 alkaloids have been detected in skin extracts from frogs of the family Dendrobatidae. All seem to have been sequestered unchanged into skin glands from alkaloid-containing arthropods. Ants, beetles, and millipedes seem to be the source of decahydroquinolines, certain izidines, coccinellines, and spiropyrrolizidine oximes. But the dietary source for a major group of frog-skin alkaloids, namely the pumiliotoxins (PTXs), alloPTXs, and homoPTXs, remained a mystery. In hopes of revealing an arthropod source for the PTX group, small arthropods were collected from eight different sites on a Panamanian island, where the dendrobatid frog (Dendrobates pumilio) was known to contain high levels of two PTXs. The mixed arthropod collections from several sites, each representing up to 20 arthropod taxa, contained PTX 307A and/or alloPTX 323B. In addition, the mixed arthropod collections from several sites contained a 5,8-disubstituted indolizidine (205A or 235B), representing another class of alkaloids previously unknown from an arthropod. An ant alkaloid, decahydroquinoline 195A, was detected in the mixed arthropod collections from several sites. Thus, "combinatorial bioprospecting" demonstrates that further collection and analysis of individual taxa of leaf-litter arthropods should reveal the taxa from which PTXs, alloPTXs, and 5,8-disubstituted indolizidines are derived.

Alkaloids↗
PubMed2003

Dominant meat ants affect only their specialist predator in an epigaeic arthropod community.

Ants are thought to exert an important influence on the structure of arthropod assemblages through predation and competition. I examined the effect of a dominant ant, Iridomyrmex purpureus, on epigaeic arthropod assemblages on rock outcrops using an exclusion experiment. I compared arthropod assemblages on four replicate outcrops allocated to each of the following treatments: I. purpureus present; I. purpureus absent; I. purpureus excluded; and procedural control. Nests of I. purpureus were caged in summer 2001 and epigaeic arthropod assemblages were sampled at all sites using pitfall traps in autumn and spring 2001 and summer 2002. I also collected items from foraging workers to determine the diet of I. purpureus. Exclusion cages successfully reduced the abundance of I. purpureus workers in pitfall traps by more than 97%. Exclusion of I. purpureus did not affect the size distribution, biomass or abundance of arthropod predators or non-predatory arthropods, although the total biomass of ants was greater at sites with I. purpureus. Spider biomass, species richness, abundance and composition were also not affected by the presence of I. purpureus, although the I. purpureus mimic and specialist predator, Habronestes bradleyi, became less abundant at sites from which I. purpureus was excluded. Predation by I. purpureus on other arthropods may not have a significant effect on epigaeic arthropod communities, but the complex role of I. purpureus in this ecosystem and the high diversity of species belonging to multiple trophic levels may obscure its effects in this system.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Insects and other arthropods used as drugs in Korean traditional medicine.

Insects and other arthropods appear in pharmacopoeias of Korean traditional medicine, but little was known about their use in modern South Korea. Interviews were conducted with 20 traditional medicine doctors at clinics in South Korea's Kyeong Dong Shijang in Seoul--one of the world's largest traditional drug markets--to learn about current patterns of usage. Seventeen products are prescribed and the use of arthropod drugs is stable or increasing. Centipedes (Scolopendra spp.) used primarily to treat arthritis and the silk moth fungus (Beauveria bassiana, which infects silk moth larvae) used mostly to treat stroke, are the most frequently prescribed and medically important arthropod drugs. Most of the arthropod drugs were traditionally collected or reared on the Korean Peninsula, but now they are imported, mainly from China. Folk logic appears to be the basis for some arthropod drug uses (i.e. centipedes, which have many legs, are used for leg problems). But many of the arthropods have venom and other defensive chemicals which are biologically active. The South Korean use of arthropods as drugs (as well as for food and enjoyment) is due, in part, to more positive attitudes towards these animals compared to many cultures. Arthropods appear to be an unexplored and unexploited source of drugs for modern medicine.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Transgenic arthropods for pest management programs: risks and realities.

The ability to genetically engineer arthropods using recombinant DNA methods opens new opportunities for improving pest management programs but also creates new responsibilities, including evaluation of the potential risks of releasing transgenic arthropods into the environment. It is now becoming easier to transform diverse species of arthropods by a variety of recombinant DNA methods. Useful genes and genetic regulatory elements are being identified for pest arthropods, but less effort is being expended to identify genes that could improve the efficacy of beneficial arthropods. A transgenic strain of the natural enemy Metaseiulus (= Typhlodromus or Galendromus) occidentalis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) was developed using a method termed maternal microinjection. This transgenic strain was released into an experimental site on the campus of the University of Florida in 1996 after extensive reviews by the University of Florida Biosafety Committee, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The short term releases established a precedent for releasing a transgenic arthropod but, at present, no guidelines are available that would allow transgenic arthropods to be released permanently into the environment. Several scientific, environmental, and policy issues must be resolved before transgenic pests or beneficial arthropods can be deployed in practical pest management programs.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Effects of pyriproxyfen spray, powder, and oral bait treatments on the relative abundance of nontarget arthropods of black-tailed prairie dog (Rodentia: Sciuridae) towns.

Separate black-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys ludovicianus (Ord), towns on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Colorado, were treated with technical pyriproxyfen (Nylar) spray, powder, and oral bait. The treatments were applied to reduce relative abundance of the plague vector Oropsylla hirsuta (Baker). Because pyriproxyfen is a juvenile hormone analog, we were also concerned with the effects of the treatments on nontarget arthropods, which is the focus of this study. Pitfall traps and sweep net sampling were used to measure relative abundance of arthropod populations pre- and posttreatment. Nontarget arthropod sampling produced a large number of statistical comparisons that indicated significant declines (P < 0.05) in relative arthropod abundance. Many of the significant declines were probably because of natural fluctuations in arthropod populations rather than treatment effects. Because arthropod populations appeared to fluctuate randomly, we only made inferences about highly significant (P < 0.001) declines. In doing so, we hoped to abate some of the confusion created by the natural fluctuation in arthropod abundance and increase our chance of correctly attributing a population reduction to a treatment effect. Only Homoptera at the pyriproxyfen powder site exhibited highly significant reductions that appeared to be attributed to the treatments. Pyriproxyfen spray treatments did not significantly reduce relative arthropod abundance.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

A statistical analysis of successional patterns in carrion-arthropod assemblages: implications for forensic entomology and determination of the postmortem interval.

A set of statistical protocols is proposed for analyzing carrion-arthropod succession in forensic entomology investigations. A total of 23 carrion-arthropod data sets from temperate, tropical, desert, and coastal environments were assembled in a standard format and analyzed using randomization tests and methods derived from quantitative community ecology. The data were analyzed in three ways. First, patterns of arthropod visitation on nonhuman carcasses were analyzed in each of the 23 cases. Analysis revealed two groups of taxa: those that persist on the carcass over a single time interval (= nonreoccurring taxa, 80% of the taxa) and those that appear, leave, and reappear over time on the carcass (= reoccurring taxa, 20%). Reoccurring taxa, which can confound estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI), were found in 6 classes, 12 orders, and 29 taxonomic families of arthropods, including some forensically important taxa (for example, calliphorids, sarcophagids, histerids). The recognition that reoccurring taxa exist and that they are found in forensically important groups is an early step toward factoring in their potential importance in future entomological investigations. Second, temporal changes in the taxonomic composition of the carrion-arthropod community were studied by quantifying the degree of taxonomic similarity between pairwise combinations of time-specific samples of the succession. In 13 of the 18 illustrated cases, the midsuccessional samples, owing to their higher species richness, were taxonomically more similar to all other pairwise samples, on the average, than early and late successional samples which were poorer in species. Variability in taxonomic composition is the norm for most periods of the succession; however, in 17 of the 23 cases, some successional periods (particularly endpoint samples) revealed no changes in arthropod species composition (= matching sample-pairs). When applied to medicolegal cases, it is suggested that data sets with large fractions of matching sample-pairs should produce wider-ranging PMI estimates, on the average, than data sets with smaller fractions of matching sample-pairs. Third, Monte Carlo simulation was applied to each of the 23 assemblages to test specific hypotheses about community-wide patterns of arthropod visitation times on nonhuman carcasses. Simulation results revealed that arthropod residence times in the majority of cases (13 or 56%) followed a "clumped" succession model, whereas, the remaining 10 cases (44%) showed a more "uniform" spacing pattern of residence times on carcasses. Comparison of species accumulation curves for observed and simulated data further revealed that among the 13 "clumped" cases, most (9 or 69%) followed a "clumped, early" model (rather than "clumped, midterm" or "clumped, late" models).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The bloodsucking arthropod bite as possible cofactor in the transmission of human herpesvirus-8 infection and in the expression of Kaposi's sarcoma disease.

Based on a review of the literature on human herpesvirus-8 (HHV8) and Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) and on the distribution of KS in Italy (Veneto region particularly), we hypothesize that the bite of bloodsucking arthropods is a cofactor in the seroconversion to HHV8 positivity and probably in the pathogenesis of KS. The bloodsucking arthropod releases with saliva powerful antihaemostatics and immunomodulators which may favour the replication and the establishment of the pathogen. Transmission would depend on the close contact of the child with a seropositive mother (or relatives) whose infective saliva is used to relieve itching and scratching at the arthropod bite's sites. During any deregulation of the immune system (e.g. ageing), local immune responses to new insect bites may induce virus activation which could prelude KS insurgence. The pathogen is not directly transmitted by the arthropod which merely prepares the cutaneous microenvironment for the virus. We have therefore introduced a new category of medically important arthropods, "promoter arthropods", besides those already defined as biological or mechanical vectors. Promoter arthropods are species able to induce in the host long-lasting, immediate or delayed-type hypersensitivity responses as well as local immunosuppression due to substances injected with their saliva. The striking variability of ORF-K1 gene of HHV8 could be due to the adaptation of the virus to the specific microenvironments resulting from the immune response to the salivary antigens characteristic of the bloodsucking arthropod species prevalent in each geographical area. It is worth noting that other viruses (especially Hepatitis B Virus) may exploit the same non-sexual transmission route.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Predation of arthropods by southern bearded sakis (Chiropotes satanas) in Eastern Brazilian Amazonia.

Bearded sakis are seed predators, but are also known to consume arthropods. This is the first detailed report of arthropod predation in southern bearded sakis (Chiropotes satanas). Two groups were monitored-one in continuous forest, and one on a small island-between January 2003 and February 2004. The arthropod prey included spiders and six insect orders. Island group members spent more time foraging for arthropods (3.8% vs. 2.6% of activity time) but ingested less prey (3.7% vs. 4.6% of feeding time). Arthropods accounted for a small proportion of feeding records in most months, but there were occasional sharp peaks due to the exploitation of temporary agglomerations of insects. In November, arthropods accounted for 26.6% and 14.2% of the feeding records of the mainland and island groups, respectively. The results suggest that bearded sakis actively seek arthropods as a dietary supplement, but that they represent a minor resource during most of the year, even under conditions of intense habitat fragmentation (island group).

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Developmental modularity and the evolutionary diversification of arthropod limbs.

Segmentation is one of the most salient characteristics of arthropods, and differentiation of segments along the body axis is the basis of arthropod diversification. This article evaluates whether the evolution of segmentation involves the differentiation of already independent units, i.e., do segments evolve as modules? Because arthropod segmental differentiation is commonly equated with differential character of appendages, we analyze appendages by comparing similarities and differences in their development. The comparison of arthropod limbs, even between species, is a comparison of serially repeated structures. Arthropod limbs are not only reiterated along the body axis, but limbs themselves can be viewed as being composed of reiterated parts. The interpretation of such reiterated structures from an evolutionary viewpoint is far from obvious. One common view is that serial repetition is evidence of a modular organization, i.e., repeated structures with a common fundamental identity that develop semi-autonomously and are free to diversify independently. In this article, we evaluate arthropod limbs from a developmental perspective and ask: are all arthropod limbs patterned using a similar set of mechanisms which would reflect that they all share a generic coordinate patterning system? Using Drosophila as a basis for comparison, we find that appendage primordia, positioned along the body using segmental patterning coordinates, do indeed have elements of common identity. However, we do not find evidence of a single coordinate system shared either between limbs or among limb branches. Data concerning the other diagnostic of developmental modularity--semi-autonomy of development--are not currently available for sufficient taxa. Nonetheless, some data comparing patterns of morphogenesis provide evidence that limbs cannot always be temporally or spatially decoupled from the development of their neighbors, suggesting that segment modularity is a derived character.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2000

Long PCR improves Wolbachia DNA amplification: wsp sequences found in 76% of sixty-three arthropod species.

Bacteria belonging to the genus Wolbachia are associated with a variety of reproductive anomalies in arthropods. Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (= Standard PCR) routinely has been used to amplify Wolbachia DNA from arthropods. While testing the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae and other arthropods known to be infected with Wolbachia, Standard PCR frequently produced false negatives, perhaps because the DNA from the arthropod host interfered with amplification by Taq DNA polymerase. Long PCR, which uses two enzymes (Taq and Pwo), consistently amplified Wolbachia DNA and a sensitivity analysis indicated that Long PCR was approximately six orders of magnitude more sensitive than Standard PCR in amplifying plasmid DNA spiked into insect genomic DNA. A survey indicated that 76% of sixty-two arthropod species and two subspecies in thirteen orders tested positive for the Wolbachia wsp sequence by Long PCR, which is considerably higher than the rate of 16.9% obtained previously for the ftsZ sequence using Standard PCR (Werren, J.H., Windsor, D. and Gao, L. (1995a) Proc R Soc Lond B 262: 197-204). A subsample of Long PCR products from fourteen arthropod species and two subspecies were sequenced, both directly and after cloning. Two A- and eleven B-Wolbachia strains were detected and their wsp sequences displayed a maximum of 23.7% sequence divergence at this locus. Two new groups (named Fus and Ten) were identified in addition to nineteen reported earlier (Zhou, W., Rousset, F. and O'Neill, S.L. (1998) Proc R Soc Lond B 265: 1-7; van Meer, M.M.M., Witteveldt, J. and Stouthamer, R. (1999) Insect Mol Biol 8: 399-408), because they displayed more than 2.5% sequence divergence from other Wolbachia wsp sequences. PCR products from seventeen of twenty-nine (59%) arthropod species analysed could not be sequenced directly due to apparent infection by multiple Wolbachia strains. The wsp sequences cloned from two such species (Plutella xylostella and Trichoplusia ni) indicated both A- and B-Wolbachia were present in a single individual. Hence, superinfection also may be more widespread than the 1.2% incidence previously estimated.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Modulation of host immunity by haematophagous arthropods.

The medical and veterinary public-health importance of haematophagous arthropods is immense and continuing to increase because of the emergence of new vector-borne infectious agents and the resurgence of well known ones. Control of blood-feeding arthropods and the pathogens they transmit is compounded by drug, insecticide and acaricide resistance. Novel control strategies are needed. Immunological control is one very promising approach to these problems. In order to develop anti-arthropod vaccines that block pathogen transmission and establishment, the immunological interactions occurring at the interface of the blood-feeding arthropod and host must be characterized. An important component of these interactions is arthropod modulation of the host's innate and acquired, specific immune defences. This review discusses current knowledge regarding the ability of haematophagous arthropods to alter their hosts' immune defences, the impact of those changes on pathogen transmission, the molecular bases for the immunomodulation, and strategies for identification of the molecules in arthropod saliva that are responsible for the immunomodulation.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

A genetic similarity rule determines arthropod community structure.

We define a genetic similarity rule that predicts how genetic variation in a dominant plant affects the structure of an arthropod community. This rule applies to hybridizing cottonwood species where plant genetic variation determines plant-animal interactions and structures a dependent community of leaf-modifying arthropods. Because the associated arthropod community is expected to respond to important plant traits, we also tested whether plant chemical composition is one potential intermediate link between plant genes and arthropod community composition. Two lines of evidence support our genetic similarity rule. First, in a common garden experiment we found that trees with similar genetic compositions had similar chemical compositions and similar arthropod compositions. Second, in a wild population, we found a similar relationship between genetic similarity in cottonwoods and the dependent arthropod community. Field data demonstrate that the relationship between genes and arthropods was also significant when the hybrids were analysed alone, i.e. the pattern is not dependent upon the inclusion of both parental species. Because plant-animal interactions and natural hybridization are common to diverse plant taxa, we suggest that a genetic similarity rule is potentially applicable, and may be extended, to other systems and ecological processes. For example, plants with similar genetic compositions may exhibit similar litter decomposition rates. A corollary to this genetic similarity rule predicts that in systems with low plant genetic variability, the environment will be a stronger factor structuring the dependent community. Our findings argue that the genetic composition of a dominant plant can structure higher order ecological processes, thus placing community and ecosystem ecology within a genetic and evolutionary framework. A genetic similarity rule also has important conservation implications because the loss of genetic diversity in one species, especially dominant or keystone species that define many communities, may cascade to negatively affect the rest of the dependent community.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The colonization of land by animals: molecular phylogeny and divergence times among arthropods.

BACKGROUND: The earliest fossil evidence of terrestrial animal activity is from the Ordovician, approximately 450 million years ago (Ma). However, there are earlier animal fossils, and most molecular clocks suggest a deep origin of animal phyla in the Precambrian, leaving open the possibility that animals colonized land much earlier than the Ordovician. To further investigate the time of colonization of land by animals, we sequenced two nuclear genes, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and enolase, in representative arthropods and conducted phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses of those and other available DNA and protein sequence data. To assess the robustness of animal molecular clocks, we estimated the deuterostome-arthropod divergence using the arthropod fossil record for calibration and tunicate instead of vertebrate sequences to represent Deuterostomia. Nine nuclear and 15 mitochondrial genes were used in phylogenetic analyses and 61 genes were used in molecular clock analyses. RESULTS: Significant support was found for the unconventional pairing of myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) with chelicerates (spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, etc.) using nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Our estimated time for the divergence of millipedes (Diplopoda) and centipedes (Chilopoda) was 442 +/- 50 Ma, and the divergence of insects and crustaceans was estimated as 666 +/- 58 Ma. Our results also agree with previous studies suggesting a deep divergence (approximately 1100 - 900 Ma) for arthropods and deuterostomes, considerably predating the Cambrian Explosion seen in the animal fossil record. CONCLUSIONS: The consistent support for a close relationship between myriapods and chelicerates, using mitochondrial and nuclear genes and different methods of analysis, suggests that this unexpected result is not an artefact of analysis. We propose the name Myriochelata for this group of animals, which includes many that immobilize prey with venom. Our molecular clock analyses using arthropod fossil calibrations support earlier studies using vertebrate calibrations in finding that deuterostomes and arthropods diverged hundreds of millions of years before the Cambrian explosion. However, our molecular time estimate for the divergence of millipedes and centipedes is close to the divergence time inferred from fossils. This suggests that arthropods may have adapted to the terrestrial environment relatively late in their evolutionary history.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Arthropod food web restoration following removal of an invasive wetland plant.

Restoration of habitats impacted by invasive plants is becoming an increasingly important tool in the management of native biodiversity, though most studies do not go beyond monitoring the abundance of particular taxonomic groups, such as the return of native vegetation. Yet, the reestablishment of trophic interactions among organisms in restored habitats is equally important if we are to monitor and understand how ecosystems recover. This study examined whether food web interactions among arthropods (as inferred by abundance of naturally occurring stable isotopes of C [delta13C] and N [delta15N]) were reestablished in the restoration of a coastal Spartina alterniflora salt marsh that had been invaded by Phragmites australis. From patterns of C and N stable isotopes we infer that trophic interactions among arthropods in the native salt marsh habitats are characterized by reliance on the dominant marsh plant Spartina as a basal resource. Herbivores such as delphacid planthoppers and mirid bugs have isotope signatures characteristic of Spartina, and predatory arthropods such as dolicopodid flies and spiders likewise have delta13C and delta15N signatures typical of Spartina-derived resources (approximately -13 per thousand and 10 per thousand, respectively). Stable isotope patterns also suggest that the invasion of Phragmites into salt marshes and displacement of Spartina significantly alter arthropod food web interactions. Arthropods in Phragmites-dominated sites have delta13C isotope values between -18 per thousand and -20 per thousand, suggesting reliance on detritus and/or benthic microalgae as basal resources and not on Phragmites, which has a delta13C approximately -26 per thousand. Since most Phragmites herbivores are either feeding internally or are rare transients from nearby Spartina, these resources do not provide significant prey resources for other arthropod consumers. Rather, predator isotope signatures in the invaded habitats indicate dependence on detritus/algae as basal resources instead of the dominant vegetation. The reestablishment of Spartina after removal of Phragmites, however, not only returned species assemblages typical of reference (uninvaded) Spartina, but stable isotope signatures suggest that the trophic interactions among the arthropods were also similar in reestablished habitats. Specifically, both herbivores and predators showed characteristic Spartina signatures, suggesting the return of the original grazer-based food web structure in the restored habitats.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Further exploration into the adaptive design of the arthropod "microbrain": I. Sensory and memory-processing systems.

Arthropods have small but sophisticated brains that have enabled them to adapt their behavior to a diverse range of environments. In this review, we first discuss some of general characteristics of the arthropod "microbrain" in comparison with the mammalian "megalobrain". Then we discuss about recent progress in the study of sensory and memory-processing systems of the arthropod "microbrain". Results of recent studies have shown that (1) insects have excellent capability for elemental and context-dependent forms of olfactory learning, (2) mushroom bodies, higher olfactory and associative centers of arthropods, have much more elaborated internal structures than previously thought, (3) many genes involved in the formation of basic brain structures are common among arthropods and vertebrates, suggesting that common ancestors of arthropods and vertebrates already had organized head ganglia, and (4) the basic organization of sensori-motor pathways of the insect brain has features common to that of the mammalian brain. These findings provide a starting point for the study of brain mechanisms of elaborated behaviors of arthropods, many of which remain unexplored.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Prevalence of arthropod antibodies in Korean patients with allergic rhinitis.

Arthropod antigens are main causative agents which induce allergic responses in humans. However, little information is known about the prevalence of specific arthropod allergens in Koreans with allergic diseases. The current study was designed to determine the positive rates of arthropod antibodies by the Korean inhalant panel of MAST-CLA. One hundred sixty patients, who were diagnosed with allergic rhinitis from an out-patient center at the Soonchunhyang University Chunan Hospital, were studied between August 1998 to July 2000. The overall positive rate, at least more than one specific antibody of arthropods such as Dermatophagoides farinae (Df), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp), and cockroach mix (Cm), was 46.9%. Each positive rate of Df, Dp, and Cm was 45.0%, 43.1%, and 8.8%, respectively. A significant agreement among arthropod allergens was observed (Df and Dp: 95.6%, Kappa = 0.911, P < 0.001). Our data supported the fact that arthropods were the most common allergens in Korean patients with allergic rhinitis; however, the MAST-CLA should be modified to increase specificity of arthropod allergens.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Could microbial symbionts of arthropod guts contribute significantly to nitrogen fixation in terrestrial ecosystems?

Fixed nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in most terrestrial ecosystems and has been assumed to be supplied almost entirely by free-living bacteria as well as by bacteria living in association with plants. The survival and growth of many arthropods on diets with extremely high carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratios suggest that these arthropods are not obtaining sufficient nitrogen from their diets but must be obtaining additional nitrogen from some other source(s). Estimates of N(2) fixation have suggested that symbiotic microbes of some arthropod hindguts could be obtaining this additional nitrogen as a result of nitrogen fixation. With the recent availability of antibody and nucleic acid probes, the presence of the enzyme that reduces dinitrogen gas to ammonia (nitrogenase) as well as the presence of its transcripts can be detected and localized with great sensitivity. A preliminary survey of a few detritivores indicates that nitrogen-fixing microbes of diverse forms are widespread in arthropod hindguts. In calculating nitrogen budgets, the possible contributions of nitrogen fixation by symbionts in arthropod guts, however, has been largely ignored. N(2) fixation in arthropod guts, with rates as high as 10-40 kg/ha/year being possible, may represent a significant contribution both to the growth of arthropods and to their ecosystem functions of processing carbon and nitrogen.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Is it possible to develop pan-arthropod vaccines?

Hematophagous arthropods that transmit the etiological agents of arthropod-borne diseases have become the focus of anti-vector vaccines, targeted mainly at components of their saliva and midgut. These efforts have been directed mostly towards developing species-specific vaccines. An alternative is to target cross-reactive epitopes that have been preserved during evolution of the arthropods. The N- and O-linked glycans that are attached to arthropod glycoproteins are one of the potential targets of this pan-arthropod vaccine approach. Here, we discuss how genetically modified Drosophila melanogaster cells can be used to synthesize and to deliver these arthropod glycans to vertebrate hosts.

Animals↗