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At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

The cuticular hydrocarbons of the giant soil-burrowing cockroach Macropanesthia rhinoceros saussure (Blattodea: Blaberidae: Geoscapheinae): analysis with respect to age, sex and location.

The cuticular hydrocarbons of a widespread species of soil-burrowing cockroach, Macropanesthia rhinoceros, have been sampled from most of its known geographical locations. Analysis of extracts from individual insects has enabled a study of differences within a population as well as among geographical locations. In the case of M. rhinoceros, except for newly hatched first-instar nymphs, variations in hydrocarbon composition among individuals of different cohorts of M. rhinoceros, based on age and sex, are no greater than those among individuals of a single cohort. Geographical populations of this species are variable in hydrocarbon composition unless they occur within a few kilometres of each other. A few populations showed very different hydrocarbon patterns but, in the absence of any correlating biological differences, it is uncertain whether this signifies the presence of otherwise unrecognizable sibling species or just extreme examples of the geographical variation characteristic of this group of insects.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Identification, purification and properties of a beta-1,3-glucan-specific lectin from the serum of the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis which is implicated in immune defence reactions.

A lectin specific for laminarin, a beta-1,3-glucan, agglutinating baker's yeast and enhancing prophenoloxidase activation by laminarin, has been purified from the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis, serum. Purification involved gel filtration with Bio-gel P300 and affinity chromatography on blue Sepharose CL-6B and laminarin-Sepharose 4B. The purified lectin has a molecular mass estimate of 520 kDa determined by gel filtration, and approximately 80 and 82 kDa by SDS-PAGE, under non-reducing and reducing conditions, respectively. After isoelectric focusing the lectin focused as a single band at pH 4.9. The purified lectin was stained by the periodic acid/Schiff's reagent showing that it is a glycoprotein, and was deglycosylated by endo-beta-N-acetylglu-cosaminidase F. Amino acid composition analysis showed the protein is similar to previously purified beta-1,3-glucan binding proteins from other invertebrates. In electron micrographs by negative staining, the protein formed large aggregates with 'Y'-shaped 'structural units' ca. 79 x 65 nm. Immunological tests confirmed that this lectin is not related to any other lectins previously purified from the same insect. This protein appears to be part of the hexamerin family of proteins. This is one of the first reports of a hexamerin-like molecule with lectin activity.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Endobronchial cockroach: an unusual foreign body aspiration.

Foreign-body aspiration is a frequent and potentially lethal occurrence in children. It is associated with a variety of symptoms including choking, coughing, and wheezing. These symptoms differ in severity and are sometimes absent, and chest radiograph findings are often nonspecific. Thus, the diagnosis of foreign body aspiration is occasionally missed or delayed. A multitude of aspirated objects have been reported in the literature. In the present report, we describe the aspiration of a cockroach by a child with a delay in diagnosis of 3 d.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Alternative splicing of the BSC1 gene generates tissue-specific isoforms in the German cockroach.

Voltage-gated sodium channels are integral transmembrane proteins responsible for the rapidly-rising phase of action potentials in most excitable cells. In mammals, the functional diversity and wide distribution of sodium channel proteins in various tissues and cell types are achieved mainly by selective expression of many distinct sodium channel genes. In the model insect, Drosophila melanogaster, however, only one confirmed sodium channel gene, para, and one putative sodium channel gene, DSC1, are known. We cloned and sequenced a DSC1 ortholog, BSC1, from the German cockroach, Blattella germanica. We found that the BSC1 transcript was present in a wide range of tissues, including nerve cord, muscle, gut, fat body and ovary, whereas the para transcript was detected only in nerve cord and muscle. Moreover, different tissues contained distinct alternatively spliced variants of BSC1, and two muscle-specific spliced variants are predicted to encode truncated proteins with only the first two of the four homologous domains. Therefore, alternative splicing and expression of distinct splicing variants in functionally different tissues may be a major mechanism by which insects increase BSC1 channel diversity in neuronal and non-neuronal tissues.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed2002

Ionotropic glutamate receptors mediate juvenile hormone synthesis in the cockroach, Diploptera punctata.

By monitoring changes in the cytosolic [Ca2+](i) and rates of juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis in response to L-glutamate agonists and antagonists, we identified and characterized glutamate receptor subtypes in corpus allatum (CA) cells of the cockroach, Diploptera punctata. During the first ovarian cycle, corpora allata exhibited a cycle of changes in sensitivity to L-glutamate correlated to cyclic changes in rates of JH synthesis. When exposed to 60 microM L-glutamate in vitro, the active corpora allata of day-4 mated females produced 60% more JH, while inactive corpora allata at other ages showed 10-20% stimulatory response. Pharmacological characterization using various L-glutamate receptor agonists and antagonists indicated that several ionotropic subtypes of L-glutamate receptors were present in the CA. The CA showed an increase in rates of JH synthesis in response to NMDA, kainate, and quisqualate, but not to AMPA in both L-15 medium and minimum incubation medium. In contrast, applications of the metabotropic receptor-specific agonist trans-ACPD failed to elicit a change in the cytosolic [Ca2+](i) and JH production. An elevation of cytosolic calcium concentration, followed by 20-30% rise in JH production, was observed when active CA cells were exposed to 10-40 microM kainate. Kainate had no stimulatory effect on JH synthesis in calcium-free medium. The kainate-induced JH synthesis was blocked by 20 microM CNQX but was not affected by 20 microM NBQX. Kainate-stimulated JH production was not suppressed by MK-801 (a specific blocker of NMDA-receptor channel), nor was NMDA-stimulated JH production affected by CNQX (a specific antagonist of kainate receptor). These data suggest that active CA cells are stimulated to synthesize more JH by a glutamate-induced calcium rise via NMDA-, kainate- and/or quisqualate-sensitive subtypes of ionotropic L-glutamate receptors. The metabotropic-subtype and ionotropic AMPA-subtype L-glutamate receptors are unlikely to be present on active CA cells.

6-Cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione↗
PubMed2002

Expression of allatostatin in the oviducts of the cockroach Diploptera punctata.

The cockroach allatostatins (Y/FXFGL/Ia ASTs) are a ubiquitous family of peptides in the invertebrates. They affect numerous physiological processes including the inhibition of juvenile hormone III (JH) biosynthesis, inhibition of muscle contraction, inhibition of ovarian ecdysteroid biosynthesis and inhibition of vitellogenin (Vg) release from the fat body. We have developed and optimized a sensitive and specific quantitative competitive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (QC-RT-PCR) method to quantify Diploptera punctata AST (Dippu-AST) expression. Using this technique we show that tissues of both lateral and common oviducts and the ovary express message for Dippu-AST. Moreover, the pattern of expression observed in the oviducts and ovary is strikingly similar with significant changes occurring during the reproductive cycle. Specifically, expression of AST is drastically reduced during the time of maximal vitellogenin (Vg) uptake, with higher levels measured prior to and following vitellogenesis. Furthermore, using immunocytochemistry, we have shown Dippu-AST-like-immunoreactivity in the terminal abdominal ganglion, as well as in ventral nerve 7, some branches of which innervate the common and lateral oviducts with other branches innervating the bursa copulatrix and brood sac of mated female D. punctata. The pattern of Dippu-AST expression and immunocytochemical staining suggests that ASTs function, in part, to regulate the cycle of vitellogenesis in mated female D. punctata.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Cuticular proteins from the giant cockroach, Blaberus craniifer.

The extractable proteins from selected cuticular regions of nymphs and adults of the cockroach, Blaberus craniifer, have been compared by two-dimensional gel-electrophoresis. Only minor differences in protein patterns were observed when nymphal and adult pre-ecdysial cuticles (presumptive exocuticle) were compared, whereas the pattern obtained from nymphal mid-instar cuticle (mainly endocuticle) differed markedly from that obtained from mature adult cuticle. The pattern obtained from nymphal mid-instar cuticle depended upon the specific cuticular region analysed, but the differences within a stage were, to a large extent, quantitative and not qualitative. Seven nymphal endocuticular proteins have been purified to near homogeneity, and the complete amino acid sequence has been determined for three of them. One of the proteins, Bc-NCP1, contains a 16-residue motif repeated three times and containing a disulphide bridge. Protein Bc-NCP2 has a twice repeated motif in common with a pupal protein from Bombyx mori, and Bc-NCP4 contains a twice-repeated sequence of nine residues and is moreover characterized by an unusual high content of valine (22.0%). None of the protein sequences shows significant similarities to the sequences determined for locus endocuticular proteins, except that they all have pyroglutamate as the N-terminal residue.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Ketomethylene and methyleneamino pseudopeptide analogues of insect allatostatins inhibit juvenile hormone and vitellogenin production in the cockroach Blattella germanica.

Metabolic studies on insect allatostatins have suggested that the dipeptide Leu-Tyr may be a target for endopeptidases. In order to increase resistance to degradation, methyleneamino psi [CH2NH] and ketomethylene psi [COCH2] peptide bond surrogates have been introduced at the position Leu3-Tyr4 of the allatostatin Asp-Arg-Leu-Tyr-Ser-Phe-Gly-Leu-amide (BLAST-2), and Leu3-Phe4 of [Phe4]BLAST-2, respectively. Assays of inhibition of juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis in vitro by corpora allata from the cockroach Blattella germanica showed that both analogues were similarly active to the respective model peptides. The methyleneamino analogue was further tested in vivo as an inhibitor of JH synthesis, and in vivo and in vitro as an inhibitor of vitellogenin production by the fat body of B. germanica. The analogue was less active than BLAST-2 when tested in vitro, but more active than it when tested in vivo.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1997

The biosynthesis and processing of vitellogenin in the fat bodies of females and males of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae.

The juvenile hormone analog (JHA) methoprene was used to induce the synthesis of the yolk protein precursor vitellogenin (Vg) in adult females and males of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae. The female- and male-produced vitellogenin (VgF and VgM, respectively) contained polypeptides of 112, 95, 92, and 54 kDa. Also present in the secreted vitellogenins was a soffmall quantity of a short-lived transitional 155 kDa Vg polypeptide, and a variable amount of an 85 dDa species. Quantitatively, the VgF and VgM were significantly different in the Vg112 and Vg95 units (VgF > VgM), and in the Vg85 polypeptide (VgF < VgM). In the present study, the biosynthesis of Vg precursors in the fat bodies of females and males was examined using a short radiopulse with 35S-methionine/cysteine and 32P-orthophosphate. The glycosylation of the Vg precursors was examined by digestion with endoglycosidase H and by the inhibition of N-linked glycosylation with tunicamycin. The data showed that in both females and males, the synthesis of the vitellogenin precursor occurred in a stepwise fashion: (1) the co-translational glycosylation of Vg203; (2) the post-translational phosphorylation of Vg203 to form Vg220; (3) the proteolytic processing of Vg220 to form the constituent Vg polypeptides. The 203 and 220 kDa Vg precursors of females and males appeared to be similarly glycosylated and phosphorylated. The additional processing of Vg112 to Vg85 was more pronounced in the fat bodies of males than in females, and appears to account for the quantitative difference in the distribution of these polypeptides in VgF and VgM. Finally, the major oligosaccharides of VgF and VgM appear to be those of N-linked mannose residues. The treatment of females and males with tunicamycin indicated that the co-translational glycosylation of Vg precursors was required for the phosphorylation of the Vg precursor, as well as the secretion of Vg from the fat body.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1998

Characterization of two male-specific polypeptides in the tergal glands secretions of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae (Dictyoptera, Blaberidae).

During the sexual behavior of cockroaches, the female mounts the courting male to feed on the proteinaceous secretion of the tergal glands. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of male and female protein extracts after cuticle wiping revealed three major bands. Two of 18 and 22 kDa, named Lma-P18 and Lma-P22, are specific to the male tergal extracts. Moreover, Lma-P22 is only found in the male second tergite extracts. The third one of 54 kDa, named Lma-P54, is common to male and female extracts and could be considered as an ubiquitous surface protein. Several other minor proteins are also present on the body surface of adults of both sexes. Quantitation of the total protein amount of the male tergal gland secretion shows a progressive accumulation from adult ecdysis to sexual maturity. Western blot analysis using antibodies raised against Lma-P22 and Lma-P54 confirms that Lma-P22 is only secreted by the male second tergite glands. Immunohistolocalization demonstrates that these three major proteins are produced by class 3 glandular cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Juvenile hormone inhibition of gene expression for cytochrome P4504C1 in adult females of the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis.

The regulation and pattern of gene expression for cytochrome P4504C1 was measured in the fat body of adult females of the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis. The level of CYP4C1-mRNA was high at adult emergence but disappeared after 4 days of adult life. In starved females, CYP4C1-mRNA levels declined by day 4 but increased steadily thereafter; by 25 days, the levels were nearly twice those observed at eclosion. Both the rapid early disappearance of the transcript and the starvation-related increase failed to occur following decapitation. Allatectomy also prevented the disappearance of CYP4C1-mRNA at day 4, and treatment of decapitated females with methoprene (JHA) stimulated a 70% decrease in transcript within 24 h. Injection of synthetic Blaberus hypertrehalosemic hormone (HTH) increased CYP4C1-mRNA by six-fold in the fat body of both intact and decapitated females. CYP4C1-mRNA in the fat body of males did not respond to JHA treatment. The dynamics of CYP4C1-mRNA in the fat body of females could be explained based on an inhibition of CYP4C1 expression by JH that was overcome by HTH.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2003

Three-dimensional molecular-field analyses of octopaminergic agonists for the cockroach neuronal octopamine receptor.

The quantitative structure-activity relationship of a set of 40 octopaminergic agonists against receptor 2 in cockroach nervous tissue, was analyzed using molecular-field analysis (MFA). MFA on the study set of those compounds evaluated effectively the energy between a probe and a molecular model at a series of points defined by a rectangular grid. Contour surfaces for the molecular fields were presented and the results provided useful information in the characterization and differentiation of octopaminergic receptor.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed2003

Biogeography of Japanese wood-feeding cockroaches genus Salganea and Panesthia (Blaberidae: Panesthiinae).

We investigated mitochondrial COII gene sequences of Japanese wood-feeding cockroaches (Salganea spp. and Panesthia angustipennis) in detail to investigate their biogeography. The transition (TI) numbers between each genus north and south of the Tokara Strait, which is a border of the Oriental and the Palaearctic faunal regions, were almost same, but the transversion (TV) numbers were much lower in Panesthia compared with Salganea. These tendencies suggest that multiple substitutions of TIs occurred between certain pairs of Salganea taxa and that the genera must have entered to the north of the Tokara Strait at different times. Phylogenetic relationships and estimated divergence times using TVs divergences suggest that Salganea species and Panesthia taxa north and south of the Tokara Strait were diverged from each other during the latter half of the Miocene and from the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene, respectively. These two periods are nearly consistent with the two land expanding times in the Ryukyu Islands supported by the recent palaeogeographical hypotheses.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

An allometric analysis of oxygen consumption rate and cardiovascular function in the cockroach, Blaberus discoidalis.

The interrelationship of metabolic rate and cardiovascular function has been well documented in vertebrates through allometric analyses. However, similar studies are lacking in insects. Unlike vertebrates, the cardiovascular system of insects does not play a significant role in oxygen transport. A comparison of the interrelationship in insects and vertebrates might provide insight into the nature of the connection between metabolic rate and the cardiovascular system. Oxygen consumption, heart rate and heart dimensions were measured in the nymphs of the cockroach Blaberus discoidalis over a mass range of 0.03-5 g. Oxygen consumption rate scaled with an exponent of 0.83. The relationship between heart rate and body mass scaled negatively, however, it did not appear to be linear. Using measurements of heart widths, abdominal length and heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output were estimated. Cardiac output appeared to scale linearly with an exponent of 0.85, which was not significantly different from the exponent observed for the rate of oxygen consumption. Thus, the observed similarity between the exponents for oxygen consumption rate and cardiac output in vertebrates also appears to be present in insects.

Animals↗
PubMed1973

Aerobic bacteria occurring in the hind-gut of the cockroach, Blatta orientalis.

Methods are described for the isolation and identification of aerobic bacteria occurring naturally in the hind-gut of the cockroach Blatta orientalis captured from a number of wild sources, to establish whether or not human pathogens occurred naturally within the gut. During the investigation an organism was frequently found which could not be classified in any described species, and for which we propose the name Escherichia blattae.

Aerobiosis↗
PubMed1973

Laboratory transmission of enterobacteriaceae by the oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis.

Methods of maintaining and feeding and of infecting cockroaches with pathogenic organisms were investigated.Cockroaches fed on known concentrations of Escherichia coli O119, Esch. coli O1, Alkalescens Dispar O group 2 and Shigella dysenteriae 1 (Shiga's Bacillus) were maintained in Petri dishes. The effect of various diets on the survival of these organisms within the hind-gut and faeces was observed. With a ;normal' diet of gruel Esch. coli O119 was isolated for up to 20 days, Esch. coli O1 for 17 days and ADO 2 for 15 days. Sh. dysenteriae 1 was isolated only sporadically to the third day.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of dominant versus subordinate male Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches.

Interactions between male Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches are characterized by an elaborate ritual that leads to a stable dominant-subordinate hierarchy between two individuals. Chemical signals involving volatile sex pheromones and cuticular hydrocarbons play an important role in establishing and maintaining dominance status. The present study was performed to identify cuticular hydrocarbons in two- and three-times dominant or subordinate individuals obtained by forcing dyadic encounters. Two methods, i.e., solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and organic solvent extraction, were used to isolate cuticular hydrocarbons. A total of 23 peaks of cuticular hydrocarbons were identified. Analysis showed quantitative differences in hydrocarbon profiles of three-times dominant and subordinate individuals according to extraction method and dominance status. Dominant individuals were characterized by higher proportions of the monomethylalkanes 11- and 13-MeC36, 13- and 15-MeC38, and 11-, 13-, and 15-MeC35, while subordinate individuals had higher proportions of the following monomethylalkanes: 7-, 9-. and 11-MeC31, 5-MeC31, 3- and 8-MeC32, and 9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-MeC32. Discussion focuses on the reliability of hydrocarbons as indicators of dominance status and on their correlation with physiological processes.

Animals↗