Methods for the study of fluid and solute transport and their control in insect Malpighian tubules.
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This study evidence for tension transmission by microtubules and desmosomes in the follicular epithelium during anisometric growth of certain insect eggs. Most insect oocytes, and the follicles which surround them, grow anisometrically as they assume shapes which approximate to those of long prolate spheroids. Surface growth is most rapid in directions which parallel the polar axis of an oocyte and slowest in circumferential directions at right angles to this axis. The longitudinal axes of microtubule bundles in follicle cells of the gall midge Heteropeza and the cockroach Periplaneta are oriented circumferentially with respect to the surfaces of developing eggs and at right angles to the polar axes of eggs. At cell boundaries, the tubules appear to be attached to spot desmosomes. It is suggested that microtubules and desmosomes form a mechanical continuum throughout a follicular epithelium which transmits tensile forces around the circumference of a growing egg. Follicular resistance to circumferential expansion may be largely responsible for defining the elongate form of insect eggs.
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There is considerable scope for developing new non-persistent insecticides with little hazard for man and mammals by modifying the structures of the natural pyrethrins. New compounds already synthesized are more effective against some insect species than are the natural compounds, are even less hazardous to mammals, and do not need synergists to supplement their insecticidal action. Other examples show considerable insect species specificity. These compounds may help to control insect vectors when other insecticides are no longer effective because resistance has developed or because their residues can no longer be tolerated.
The pathogenesis of anaphylactic shock is not completely understood. Mast cell degranulation products may stimulate endothelial cells, leading to activation of fibrinolytic and coagulation systems. We investigated the activation of these systems in insect-sting anaphylaxis. Fifty-five patients with a previous insect-sting anaphylactic reaction and 8 volunteers were challenged with an in-hospital sting. Plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (vWF), coagulation, and fibrinolytic parameters were assessed. After the sting challenge, 20 patients developed anaphylactic symptoms, 7 of whom developed hypotension. In only these 7 patients, but not in the volunteers or in the other patients with no or mild anaphylactic symptoms, vWF levels increased from 107% +/- 33% (mean +/- SD) before, to 235% +/- 134% 60 minutes after the onset of clinical symptoms. This increase of vWF was accompanied by an increase of circulating tissue-type plasminogen-activator (tPA) levels from 5 +/- 3 micrograms/L to 50 +/- 59 micrograms/L and of plasminogen-alpha 2-antiplasmin complex (PAP-c) levels from 6 +/- 3 nmol/L to 297 +/- 225 nmol/L. Both tPA and PAP-c levels peaked 5 minutes after the onset of clinical symptoms. Such increases of tPA and PAP-c were not observed in the volunteers or in the patients who did not develop shock. The increase of tPA and PAP-c levels in the hypotensive patients correlated positively with the degree of mast cell degranulation and inversely with the mean arterial pressure. We conclude that activation of plasminogen may be involved in the pathogenesis of anaphylactic shock induced by insect venom.
Levels of acetylcholinesterase, non-specific esterases, glutathione-S-transferase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquitoes inoculated intrathoracally with Chikungunya virus were elevated, as compared to uninoculated control insects. A number of these enzymes are important in the insects defence mechanism against xenobiotics, such as pesticides. Malathion bioassays indicated a reduction in the susceptibility of experimentally injected insects with virus or virus-free inoculum, compared to non-inoculated controls. However, insects which were mock-inoculated (injected with no inoculum) showed a similar reduction in susceptibility suggesting that the observed effect was due to the mobilization of a defence reaction in the mosquitoes in response to injury during inoculation.
O,O-Dimethyl (1-hydroxy-2,2,2-trichloroethyl)phosphonate (Trichlorfon) is produced at a large scale and used in many countries e. g. in agriculture and housholds to control insects and on animals to control parasties. The compound (dissolved in isotonic sodium chloride solution) was tested for carcinogenic activity in albino rats by oral (oesophageal-gastric intubation) and intraperitoneal administration. The period of treatment was 90 weeks. The experiment was terminated at 118 weeks. There was no statistically significant difference when the tumor incidence in the groups of treated and control animals was compared. No carcinogenic activity of the compound could be demonstrated in rats at either route of application.
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Although cross-resistance in houseflies to the organophosphates has eliminated numerous potentially useful compounds from field use, the "subgroup" specificity of this phenomenon has permitted housefly control to be carried out for nearly a quarter of a century by changing from one toxicant to another within this class of insecticides. A question of considerable importance in insect control is whether the development of resistance to one subgroup of organophosphates will be at the expense of resistance to a subgroup applied previously. The development over several years of resistance in a field population selected sequentially by a number of organophosphates was studied. It was observed that the resistance spectrum expanded progressively to include, finally, organophosphates originally thought to belong to more than one subgroup-namely, malathion (resistance greater than 100 times), fenchlorphos (114 times), diazinon (163 times), coumaphos (greater than 100 times), Ciodrin (greater than 100 times), fenthion (18 times) and naled (9.3 times). Resistance to each compound continued to rise to levels considerably higher than those achieved at the time when the field use of the compound ended. The possible coexistence of subgroup cross-resistance in a population is discussed in the light of these results.
Fusarium species are known for their abundance in nature and their diverse associations with both living and dead plants and animals. Among animals Fusarium is found primarily in relationship with insects. This literature review of the past 50 years includes both non-pathogenic and pathogenic relationships between Fusarium and insects. Special attention is given to the host range, particularly between plant- and insect-hosts, and to the possible microbial potential of the fungus to control insect pests. Correct classification of this fungus has been difficult because of its diverse and non-uniform morphological features. However, by now a usable and reliable taxonomic system has been developed. The fungus can be easily cultured and mass produced. Among the non-pathogenic associations mutualism and allotrophy are found between Fusarium and wood-inhabiting and flour beetles, respectively, enhancing development and production of beetle larvae. Some insects contribute to the dispersal of the fungus in the environment by means of spore passage through their guts. Plant-pathogenic Fusarium species gain access to host tissue by plant-feeding insects. A large number of Fusarium spp. are entomopathogenic; some are weak, facultative pathogens, especially of the lepidopteran and coleopteran orders, and they will colonize their dead hosts as saprophytes. In a few cases pathogenicity to both plant and insect by one isolate was found. Strong pathogens were reported primarily from homopterans and dipterans from field observations of natural mortalities as well as from pathogenicity tests. Potential Fusarium isolates which cause high insect mortalities also show high host specificity and no damage to crop plants. The question of host invasion has been addressed by few investigators. Entrance of the fungus via the oral route, oviposition tubes, wounds, or ectoparasitic activity, were stated, but no claim for penetration of the insect cuticle. Mycotoxins, such as trichothecenes (T-2) and other secondary metabolites, contributed to mortalities of termites, mealworms, flour beetles, maize borers and blow flies, while zearalenone (F-2) exhibited a beneficial effect on egg production in flour beetles and a detrimental effect on fecundity in mammals. Studies on adverse effects of the fungus on beneficial organisms (including mammals and plants) revealed that both harmful as well as safe Fusarium isolates exist in nature. Highly host-specific and strongly entomopathogenic Fusarium isolates should be more extensively studied and tested for their possible use in biological control.