Search Results (180)

Drosophila melanogaster is one of the most known and used organisms worldwide, not just to study general biology problems but above all for modeling complex human diseases. During the decades, it has become a central tool to understand the genetics of human disease, how mutations alter the behavior and health of cells, tissues, and organs, and more recently to test new compounds with a potential therapeutic use. But how did this small insect become so crucial in genetics? And how is it currently used in the study of human conditions affecting millions of people? In this review, we retrace the historical origins of its adoption in genetics laboratories and list all the advantages it provides to scientific research, both for its daily usage and for the fine tuning of gene regulation through genetic engineering approaches. We also provide some examples of how it is used to study human diseases such as cancer, neurological and infectious diseases, and its importance in drug discovery and testing. Full article

Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, undergoes epimastigogenesis—a critical differentiation step in which trypomastigotes transform into epimastigotes. While this process is essential for the parasite’s survival in its insect vector, the molecular mechanisms regulating it remain poorly understood. Here, we present the first evidence implicating extracellular vesicles (EVs) as enhancing mediators of epimastigogenesis. Using in vitro models with T. cruzi strains CL Brener and Dm28c, we demonstrate that EVs, membrane-bound vesicles, were shown to enhance differentiation in a strain-specific and temperature-dependent manner. We observed strain-specific EV release patterns: Dm28c produced more EVs at 24 h, whereas CL Brener peaked at 72 h. Additionally, we confirm that epimastigogenesis occurs exclusively at 28 °C after 72 h. These findings establish EVs as novel regulators of T. cruzi differentiation and suggest new insight into parasite development, highlighting potential targets for therapeutic intervention. The observed enhancement of differentiation in the presence of EVs indicates a potential role for these vesicles in this developmental process, although the underlying mechanisms remain undefined. Full article

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a significant health concern in Latin America, with triatomine insects serving as its primary vectors. Among them, Triatoma barberi is an important yet understudied species in Querétaro, Mexico. This study employs ecological niche modeling (ENM) to predict the potential distribution of T. barberi in the region, using occurrence records and environmental variables. The MaxEnt algorithm was used to generate the model, which was validated through AUC and TSS metrics. Results indicate that temperature seasonality and altitude are key drivers of T. barberi distribution, with high-suitability areas found in semi-urban and peri-urban zones. Additionally, six new occurrence records were documented, suggesting a growing urban presence of this species. These findings highlight the need for enhanced vector surveillance and targeted control measures to reduce the risk of Chagas disease transmission. Full article

Butterflies are charismatic insects that are critical pollinators for plants that humans and wildlife depend on; however, butterflies have some of the largest measured declines. Two iconic butterflies in the USA, the Regal Fritillary (Argynnis idalia) and the Monarch (Danaus plexippus), are proposed for protection due to decreasing numbers from overexploitation, agricultural activities, disease and development. We surveyed 145 sites and walked 557 km from mid-June to August in 2019 and 2021 to create baseline information for butterflies and fill in knowledge gaps for these species. We observed 16,986 individuals and identified 52 species of butterflies. Generally, butterflies were more abundant at lower wind speeds and in areas with higher forb cover and less bare ground. We identified more species in locations with taller grass, higher bloom densities, higher cover of forbs, and less bare ground. We observed 11 Regal Fritillaries and 31 Monarchs extending from northeastern to southeastern Wyoming in a variety of habitats. The predicted suitable habitat of Regal Fritillaries and Monarchs was highly influenced by sagebrush cover and mean temperature of the wettest quarter according to species distribution models. Our results provide information to managers about the status, distribution, and habitat use of butterflies in a previously un-surveyed area. Historical butterfly surveys were limited to mountain ecosystems, and we provide baseline information on the habitat characteristics that support the highest abundances and most species in prairie ecosystems that can be compared to future efforts. Full article

The production of organic strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa) in Texas is becoming more popular because consumers prefer locally grown berries and are willing to pay premium prices. However, local climatic conditions pose a high risk for insect problems and fungal diseases; hence, effective pest and disease management strategies are needed. Developing effective and safe methods of producing organic strawberries is necessary for meeting local consumer demand. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of selected commercially available soil-applied biopesticides on yield and the quality of Camino Real strawberries established using bare roots on plastic mulch-covered beds with drip irrigation. The ten biopesticide treatments were replicated three times in a completely randomized design. The berries used for this study were subsampled from harvests made in mid-April, late April, and mid-May 2019. Yield, biometrical characteristics, and physicochemical analyses such as pH, acidity, total soluble solids, sugars and organic acid contents, firmness, and instrumental color were determined for fresh strawberries after each harvest period. Experimental data were analyzed using the PROC Mixed model procedure. The effects of the soil-applied biopesticide treatments on strawberry yield varied. The results of strawberry yield suggest that biopesticides applied at the right time and frequency have the potential to perform at similar levels to their conventional counterparts. Camino Real strawberries treated with biopesticides, harvested during mid-April, late April, or mid-May, exhibited acceptable flavor based on the recommended values of TA and TSS for strawberries. The biopesticides showed no negative effects on yield and fruit quality and thus they could serve as alternatives to conventional products used. Full article

Bed bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) are blood-feeding insects closely linked with humans and animals, causing discomfort, and posing potential threats as disease vectors. This study focuses on Cimex lectularius (common bed bug) and Cimex hemipterus (tropical bed bug), the two key species identified in Africa. Cimex lectularius infests human habitats, while C. hemipterus, more common in Africa, infests diverse habitats, including bat colonies. In our study, we investigated the infestation dynamics and distribution of bed bugs in Africa, when considering climate, habitat, and host availability using system dynamics and ecological niche modelling techniques. System dynamics modelling analyses in Kenya revealed varied infestation dynamics, with Mombasa having high C. lectularius prevalence, Nairobi having lower coexistence, and Makueni/Bomet C. hemipterus showing dominance. Across Africa, C. hemipterus prevails, especially in central and coastal areas, while C. lectularius has lower suitability, with isolated high-suitability zones. Both species coexist in central/southern Africa, parts of the east, and coastal areas in septentrional/west Africa. The Sahara’s extreme conditions challenge both bed bug species’ survival, emphasizing climate’s role in their infestation and distribution dynamics. Insights into bed bug ecology in Africa underscore the need for comprehensive pest management and public health strategies in the continent. Full article

Despite the application of control measures, mosquito-borne diseases continue to pose a serious threat to human health. In this context, exploiting Wolbachia, a common symbiotic bacterium in insects, may offer effective solutions to suppress vectors or reduce their competence in transmitting several arboviruses. Many Wolbachia strains can induce conditional egg sterility, known as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), when infected males mate with females that do not harbor the same Wolbachia infection. Infected males can be mass-reared and then released to compete with wild males, reducing the likelihood of wild females encountering a fertile mate. Furthermore, certain Wolbachia strains can reduce the competence of mosquitoes to transmit several RNA viruses. Through CI, Wolbachia-infected individuals can spread within the population, leading to an increased frequency of mosquitoes with a reduced ability to transmit pathogens. Using artificial methods, Wolbachia can be horizontally transferred between species, allowing the establishment of various laboratory lines of mosquito vector species that, without any additional treatment, can produce sterilizing males or females with reduced vector competence, which can be used subsequently to replace wild populations. This manuscript reviews the current knowledge in this field, describing the different approaches and evaluating their efficacy, safety, and sustainability. Successes, challenges, and future perspectives are discussed in the context of the current spread of several arboviral diseases, the rise of insecticide resistance in mosquito populations, and the impact of climate change. In this context, we explore the necessity of coordinating efforts among all stakeholders to maximize disease control. We discuss how the involvement of diverse expertise—ranging from new biotechnologies to mechanistic modeling of eco-epidemiological interactions between hosts, vectors, Wolbachia, and pathogens—becomes increasingly crucial. This coordination is especially important in light of the added complexity introduced by Wolbachia and the ongoing challenges posed by global change. Full article

With the rapid increase in global population aging, the incidence and mortality rates of age-related diseases are rising, becoming a worldwide issue. Therefore, researching and discovering natural compounds with anti-aging properties is crucial. Social insects such as termites exhibit significant differences in lifespan between reproductive and non-reproductive castes. Reproductive castes are exclusively fed by worker termites through trophallaxis, providing a convenient model for the discovery of natural anti-aging compounds. This thesis systematically investigates the trophallactic fluid among different caste members of termite Reticulitermes labralis. A total of 1028 metabolites were identified in the trophallactic fluid, seven of which have been validated in the KEGG database to possess anti-aging functions. This indicates that the trophallactic fluid of termites indeed contains natural compounds that promote longevity. Using the “fishing method”, we successfully screened out potential life-extending compounds, including IDA (trans-3-indoleacrylic acid). Preliminary experimental results showed that IDA influences lifespan by modulating the IIS (insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling) pathway and the RAS pathway. Notably, the modulation of the IIS pathway by IDA does not require the involvement of foxoa. Our research findings suggest that the extended lifespan of reproductive termites is diet-related and that the lifespan-extending effects of these nutritionally regulated natural compounds are conserved across different taxa. Full article

Forest carbon sinks play a crucial role in mitigating global climate change and enhancing ecological sustainability. This study utilizes the production theoretical decomposition analysis (PDA) model to develop a decomposition framework for analyzing the drivers of input–output dynamics within the forest carbon sink system. The study specifically focuses on plant diseases and insect pests as undesirable output indicators. We thoroughly analyzed the development and increment in forest carbon sinks across Chinese provinces and regions from 2010 to 2021, along with the key drivers influencing these changes. Policy recommendations are provided to enhance the scientific management of forest carbon sinks and promote sustainable development. The study results indicate the following: (1) Forest carbon sinks in China and its three major regions have increased annually, with dynamic fluctuations in the carbon sink increments. The overall center of gravity has shifted from southwest to northeast. (2) The rate of change in forest carbon sinks varies across provinces and regions, with 93.548% of provinces and all three major regions showing positive growth. The rate of change in forest carbon sinks in the eastern region is significantly higher than in the western and central regions; (3) Technological changes in carbon sinks positively impacted forest carbon sink enhancement across all provinces and regions of China. However, changes in the technical efficiency of carbon sinks had a significant negative effect, and the intensity of plant diseases and insect pests may become a key driver inhibiting future forest carbon sink enhancement. Full article

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disease of the intestinal mucosa, and its incidence is steadily increasing worldwide. As a traditional Chinese medicinal insect, Periplaneta americana has been broadly utilized in clinical practice to treat wound healing. The tryptophan (Trp), tryptamine (Try), and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydrogen-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (Thcc) identified from P. americana concentrated ethanol-extract liquid (PACEL) exhibit significant cell proliferation-promoting and anti-inflammatory effects in the treatment of UC, but the mechanism involved remains obscure. Here, a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC mouse model was used to investigate the efficacy of high/low doses of PACEL, Trp, Try, and Thcc. Transcriptome sequencing was employed to detect the gene expression in the mouse intestine. The results showed that high doses of PACEL, Trp, Try, and Thcc could significantly improve weight loss and diarrhea, notably in the PACEL and Trp groups. Transcriptome analysis indicated that statistically changed genes in four treatment groups were specifically enriched in the immune system. Of these, the integrated analysis identified six hub genes (IL1β, CCL4, CXCL5, CXCR2, LCN2, and MMP9) regulated by NF-κB, which were significantly downregulated. This study investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying the UC treatment properties of indole analogues from PACEL, potentially through the inhibition of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Full article

Soybean bacterial blight, caused by Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. glycine, which is one of the common diseases of soybeans, has a strong harm and a great impact on the yield of soybeans. If the disease is not diagnosed in time and no solution comes up, it will lead to the serious loss of yield after the disease becomes serious. Therefore, this paper proposes the detection of the soybean bacterial blight with the polarization spectroscopic imaging method, derived from the detection principle and mathematical model of polarization bidirectional reflection distribution function on the basis of the Stokes vector analysis method. By synthesizing the spectral lines of the four polarization states and the non-polarization states, it was found that the physical parameters of I (135°, 90°) polarization state were the most suitable for identifying soybean bacterial blight disease, and other polarization states could also supplement the characteristic information. The results show that the polarization spectral image can effectively identify the polarization characteristics of healthy soybean leaves and early bacterial blight in the field, and can distinguish the healthy leaves and the diseased leaves by obtaining the relative polarization reflectance of different areas in soybean leaves. Finally, the soybean disease species can be accurately diagnosed. This paper provides an optical method for the detection of crop diseases and insect pests, which makes up for the deficiency of the traditional detection technology and can provide a scientific basis for the safe non-destructive detection of crop diseases and pests. Full article

Infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi causes human Chagas disease. Benznidazole (BNZ) and nifurtimox are the current drugs for the treatment; however, they induce severe adverse side effects in patients; therefore, there is a need to improve the treatment effectiveness and efficiency of these drugs for its safer use. Background/Objective: Glyburide, glipizide, and gliquidone, hypoglycemic drugs for diabetes treatment, were previously predicted to bind to dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase from T. cruzi by in silico docking analysis; they also showed antiproliferative effects against T. cruzi epimastigotes, the stage of the insect vector. In the present study, the potential parasiticidal effect of these antidiabetic drugs was tested in monotherapy and bi-therapy with BNZ in human cells in vitro and in animals. Methods: Evaluation was performed in (a) a model of in vitro infection of T. cruzi trypomastigotes using human fibroblasts as host cells and (b) in mice infected with T. cruzi. Results: The antidiabetic drugs in monotherapy showed antiparasitic effects in preventing infection progression (trypomastigotes release), with an IC₅₀ of 8.4–14.3 µM in comparison to that of BNZ (0.26 µM) in vitro. However, in bi-therapy, the presence of just 0.5 or 1 µM of the antidiabetics decreased the BNZ IC₅₀ by 5–10 times to 0.03–0.05 µM. Remarkably, the antidiabetic drugs in monotherapy decreased the infection in mice by 40–60% in a similar extent to BNZ (80%). In addition, the combination of BNZ plus antidiabetics perturbed the antioxidant metabolites in epimastigotes. Conclusions: These results identified antidiabetics as potential drugs in combination therapy with BNZ to treat T. cruzi infection. Full article

Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) is a disease vector for the West Nile virus (WNV). Climate change impacts the disease transmission carried by mosquitoes, and it is partly to blame for the resurgence of mosquitoes as important disease vector insects. This study assessed the geographic range of Culex pipiens in the United States under both present and projected climatic scenarios, identifying the primary environmental factors influencing its distribution. Employing species distribution modeling (MaxEnt, Version 3.4.1) and occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, we examined the effects of key variables, including altitude, temperature seasonality (bio4), and annual precipitation (bio12), on habitat suitability for C. pipiens. The analysis revealed that altitude accounted for 60.3% of the model’s explanatory power, followed by temperature seasonality (31%) and annual precipitation (8.7%). Areas having low elevation and moderate temperature fluctuations were the most favorable for C. pipiens, with a predicted range extending across the Midwest and southeastern United States under present variables. Future projections for 2050 and 2070 under Representative Concentration Pathway (climatic change) scenarios suggest possible northward expansion in response to rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. The study highlights some shifts in C. pipiens distribution and the potential for increased disease transmission into new areas. This study serves as a catalyst for decision-makers to coordinate their management reaction and create more resilient and comprehensive strategies to safeguard human health. Full article

Sandflies, small insects primarily from the Psychodidae family, are commonly found in sandy, tropical, and subtropical regions. Most active during dawn and dusk, female sandflies feed on blood to facilitate egg production. In doing so, they can transmit infectious diseases that may cause symptoms such as fever, headaches, muscle pain, anemia, skin rashes, and ulcers. Importantly, sandflies are species-specific in their disease transmission. Determining the gender and species of sandflies typically involves examining their morphology and internal anatomy using established identification keys. However, this process requires expert knowledge and is labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to misidentification. In this paper, we develop a highly accurate and efficient convolutional network model that utilizes pharyngeal and genital images of sandfly samples to classify the sex and species of three sandfly species (i.e., Phlebotomus sergenti, Ph. alexandri, and Ph. papatasi). A detailed evaluation of the model’s structure and classification performance was conducted using multiple metrics. The results demonstrate an excellent sex-species classification accuracy exceeding 95%. Hence, it is possible to develop automated artificial intelligence-based systems that serve the entomology community at large and specialized professionals. Full article

Sustainable forestry for the management of forest resources is more important today than ever before because keeping forests healthy has an impact on human health. Recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), computer vision, and Deep Learning (DL) models make remote sensing for Forest Insect Pest and Disease (FIPD) possible. In this work, a UAV-based remote sensing process, computer vision, and a Deep Learning framework are used to automatically and efficiently detect and map areas damaged by bark beetles in a Mexican forest located in the Hidalgo State. First, the image dataset of the region of interest (ROI) is acquired by a UAV open hardware platform. To determine healthy trees, we use the tree crown detection prebuilt Deepforest model, and the trees diseased by pests are recognized using YOLOv5. To map the area of the damaged region, we propose a method based on morphological image operations. The system generates a comprehensive report detailing the location of affected zones, the total area of the damaged regions, GPS co-ordinates, and both healthy and damaged tree locations. The overall accuracy rates were 88% and 90%, respectively. The results obtained from a total area of 8.2743 ha revealed that 16.8% of the surface was affected and, of the 455 trees evaluated, 34.95% were damaged. These findings provide evidence of a fast and reliable tool for the early evaluation of bark beetle impact, which could be expanded to other tree and insect species. Full article