Immunity in a Social Insect

 Although pathogens appear to have exerted significant selective pressure on various aspects of sociality, mechanisms of disease resistance in the social insects are poorly understood. We report here on an immune response to infection by the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis. Nymphs immunized with an injection of 7.6×10⁷, 7.6×10⁵, or 7.6×10⁴ cells/ml glutaraldehyde-killed solution of the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa had significantly higher survivorship than controls following a challenge with a lethal concentration of active bacteria. Similarly, nymphs exposed to a 9×10^–1 spores/ml suspension of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae had higher survivorship than controls after a challenge with a lethal concentration of spores. Prior exposure to a pathogen thus conferred upon termites a degree of protection during a subsequent encounter with the same pathogen. This represents the first demonstration of immune function in vivo in a social insect. Received: 18 May 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 26 August 1999     

Inducible immune proteins in the dampwood termite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zootermopsis angusticollis</Emphasis>

Dampwood termites, Zootermopsis angusticollis (Isoptera: Termopsidae), mount an immune response to resist microbial infection. Here we report on results of a novel analysis that allowed us to electrophoretically assess changes in hemolymph proteins in the same individual before and after exposure to a pathogen. We demonstrate that contact with a sublethal concentration of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Deuteromycotina:Hypomycetes) induces the production of protective proteins in nymphs, pseudergates (false workers), and soldiers. Termites exposed to an immunizing dosage of fungal conidia consistently showed an enhancement of constitutive proteins (62–85 kDa) in the hemolymph as well as an induction of novel proteins (28–48 kDa) relative to preimmunization levels. No significant differences in protein banding patterns relative to baseline levels in control and naïve termites were observed. Incubating excised and eluted induced proteins produced by immunized pseudergates or immunized soldiers with conidia significantly reduced the germination of the fungus. The fungistatic effect of eluted proteins differed significantly among five colonies examined. Our results show that the upregulation of protective proteins in the hemolymph underscores the in vivo immune response we previously recorded in Z. angusticollis.     

Fungal spore germination into yeast or mycelium: possible implications of dimorphism in evolution and human pathogenesis

 The ability of dimorphism in fungi is conventionally regarded as a reversible change between the two vegetative forms, yeast and mycelium, in response to environmental change. A zygomycetous isolate, Benjaminiella poitrasii, exhibited yeast-mycelium transition in response to the change in temperature (37–28  °C) and decrease in glucose concentration. For the first time the presence of dimorphic response during asexual and sexual spore germination is reported under the dimorphism-triggering conditions in B. poitrasii. The zygospores germinated into budding yeast when subjected to yeast-form supporting conditions. The mycelium-form favoring conditions gave rise to true mycelium. Similarly, the asexual spores displayed a dimorphic response during germination. Our observations suggest that dimorphism is an intrinsic ability present in the vegetative, asexual, and sexual forms of the fungus. As dimorphic fungi are intermediate to the unicellular yeast and the filamentous forms, understanding of the dimorphic character could be useful to trace the evolutionary relationships among taxonomically different fungi. Moreover, the implications of spore germination during the onset of pathogenesis and in drug development for human health care are discussed. Received: 4 November 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 28 February 2000     

Fever in honeybee colonies

 Honeybees, Apis spp., maintain elevated temperatures inside their nests to accelerate brood development and to facilitate defense against predators. We present an additional defensive function of elevating nest temperature: honeybees generate a brood-comb fever in response to colonial infection by the heat-sensitive pathogen Ascosphaera apis. This response occurs before larvae are killed, suggesting that either honeybee workers detect the infection before symptoms are visible, or that larvae communicate the ingestion of the pathogen. This response is a striking example of convergent evolution between this "superorganism" and other fever-producing animals. Received: 2 September 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 28 February 2000     

Role of Enhancer of zeste on the Production of Drosophila melanogaster Pheromonal Hydrocarbons

 In a search for genes controlling the production of Drosophila melanogaster contact pheromones, the gene Enhancer of zeste [E(z)] was found to be one player. Flies mutant for either the amorphic or the antimorphic allele of E(z) showed a similar hydrocarbon phenotype as those with the overlapping Df lxd ¹⁵ deficiency: decreased amounts of total hydrocarbons and especially unsaturated ones in both sexes. The decrease in the level of D. melanogaster female sex pheromone 7,11-heptacosadiene was dramatic and was correlated with an increase in 7-heptacosene. Females mutant for a gain-of-function allele had increased amounts of total hydrocarbons with wild-type proportions of dienes. Thus the E(z) gene seems to affect hydrocarbon biosynthesis, especially its desaturation steps and even more so the female-specific desaturation step transforming 7-monoenic fatty acids to 7,11-dienic ones and leading to female pheromones. Received: 9 July 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 20 October 1999     

Extended mutualism between termites and gut microbes: nutritional symbionts contribute to nest hygiene

All higher eukaryotes have established symbiotic relationships with diverse microorganisms. One of the most well-characterized symbiotic systems is that of termites and their intestinal microorganisms, which digest cellulose. Recently, diverse types of symbioses between gut microbes and host organisms including humans have received growing attention for various features of their complex interactions beyond nutrition. In termites, researchers are beginning to explore such function of gut symbionts, but only the contribution to internal immunity against entomopathogen is known in a few species. Here, we report that gut symbionts of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis nevadensis protect nests from the spread of the commensal bacterium Serratia marcescens, which has pathogenic potential. Defaunated termites dispersed S. marcescens in the surrounding environment by feeding on the bacteria, which then survived passage through their alimentary tracts, while non-defaunated termites did not. Loss of gut symbionts caused a significant reduction in intestinal acetate, which is an important carbon source for termites. Culture experiments showed that acetate had significant inhibitory effects on S. marcescens at a concentration as low as 12 mM, which indicated that the intestinal acetate of non-defaunated termites (40–130 mM) was capable of suppressing this bacterium. These results suggest that digestive derivatives produced by intestinal symbionts play an essential role in nest hygiene in addition to their nutritional function for termites. Our study provides a better understanding of the multifunctionality of symbiotic relationships in diverse organisms beyond nutrition.     

Sex-specific inhibition and stimulation of worker-reproductive transition in a termite

In social insects, the postembryonic development of individuals exhibits strong phenotypic plasticity in response to the environment, thus generating the caste system. Different from eusocial Hymenoptera, in which queens dominate reproduction and inhibit worker fertility, the primary reproductive caste in termites (kings and queens) can be replaced by neotenic reproductives derived from functionally sterile individuals. Feedback regulation of nestmate differentiation into reproductives has been suggested, but the sex specificity remains inconclusive. In the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, we tested the hypothesis that neotenic reproductives regulate worker-reproductive transition in a sex-specific manner. With this R. flavipes system, we demonstrate a sex-specific regulatory mechanism with both inhibitory and stimulatory functions. Neotenics inhibit workers of the same sex from differentiating into additional reproductives but stimulate workers of the opposite sex to undergo this transition. Furthermore, this process is not affected by the presence of soldiers. Our results highlight the reproductive plasticity of termites in response to social cues and provide insights into the regulation of reproductive division of labor in a hemimetabolous social insect.     

Methane Ice Worms: Hesiocaeca methanicola Colonizing Fossil Fuel Reserves

 During a research cruise in July 1997 in the Gulf of Mexico we discovered a gas hydrate approximately 1 m thick and over 2 m in diameter which had recently breached the sea floor at a depth of 540 m. The hydrate surface visible from the submarine was considerably greater than that of any other reported hydrate. Two distinct color bands of hydrate were present in the same mound, and the entire exposed surface of the hydrate was infested (2500 individuals/m²) with 2 to 4 cm-long worms, since described as a new species, Hesiocaeca methanicola, in the polychaete family Hesionidae (Desbruyères and Toulmond 1998). H. methanicola tissue stable isotope values are consistent with a chemoautotrophic food source. No evidence of chemoautotrophic symbionts was detected, but geochemical data support the presence of abundant free living bacteria on the hydrate. The activities of the polychaetes, grazing on the hydrate bacteria and supplying oxygen to their habitats, appears to contribute to the dissolution of hydrates in surface sediments. Received: 16 August 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 19 January 2000     

A new C12 alcohol identified as a sex pheromone and a trail-following pheromone in termites: the diene (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Z</Emphasis>)-dodeca-3,6-dien-1-ol

The diunsaturated C12 alcohol (Z,Z)-dodeca-3,6-dien-1-ol (dodecadienol) has been characterized by GC-MS and FTIR as a novel releaser pheromone in termites. This alcohol identified in Ancistrotermes pakistanicus (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) possesses a double pheromonal function which again illustrates the chemical parsimony of termites compared with other social insects. In workers, dodecadienol elicits trail-following at a very low concentration (activity threshold at 0.1 pg/cm of trail); in male alates it induces trail-following at a low concentration (1–10 pg/cm) and sexual attraction at a higher concentration (about 1 ng). Traces of the monounsaturated C12 alcohol (Z)-dodec-3-en-1-ol (dodecenol), known as a trail pheromone of several Macrotermitinae, were also found in the sternal gland extracts of A. pakistanicus, although only dodecadienol was present at the surface of the sternal gland. Workers of A. pakistanicus are not sensitive to dodecenol, but they are as sensitive to dodecatrienol as to dodecadienol. However, in the study area (Vietnam), A. pakistanicus is living in sympatry only with those Macrotermitinae using dodecenol as a trail pheromone, the foraging populations therefore being well isolated through their respective trail pheromones. The presence of three types of unsaturated C12 alcohols as releaser pheromones in the only Macrotermitinae subfamily is discussed, and a possible biosynthetic pathway from linoleic acid is proposed for dodecadienol.     

Carbon Offset Potentials of Four Alternative Forest Management Strategies in Canada: A Simulation Study

Using an Integrated TerrestrialEcosystem C-budget model (InTEC), we simulated thecarbon (C) offset potentials of four alternativeforest management strategies in Canada: afforestation,reforestation, nitrogen (N) fertilization, andsubstitution of fossil fuel with wood, under differentclimatic and disturbance scenarios. C offset potentialis defined as additional C uptake by forest ecosystemsor reduced fossil C emissions when a strategy isimplemented to the theoretical maximum possibleextent. The simulations provided the followingestimated gains from management: (1) Afforesting allthe estimated 7.2 Mha of marginal agricultural landand urban areas in 1999 would create an average Coffset potential of 8 Tg C y^-1 during 1999–2100,at a cost of 3.4 Tg fossil C emission in 1999. (2)Prompt reforestation of all forest lands disturbed inthe previous year during 1999–2100 would produce anaverage C offset potential of 57 Tg C y^-1 forthis period, at a cost of 1.33 Tg C y^-1. (3)Application of N fertilization (at the low rate of 5kg N ha^-1 y^-1) to the 125 Mha ofsemi-mature forest during 1999–2100 would create anaverage C offset of 58 Tg C y^-1 for this period,at a cost of 0.24 Tg C y^-1. (4) Increasingforest harvesting by 20% above current average ratesduring 1999–2100, and using the extra wood products tosubstitute for fossil energy would reduce averageemissions by 11 Tg C y^-1, at a cost of 0.54 TgC y^-1. If implemented to the maximum extent, thecombined C offset potential of all four strategieswould be 2–7 times the GHG emission reductionsprojected for the National Action Plan for ClimateChange (NAPCC) initiatives during 2000–2020, and anorder of magnitude larger than the projected increasein C uptake by Canada's agricultural soils due toimproved agricultural practices during 2000–2010.     

Heat Shielding: A Novel Method of Colonial Thermoregulation in Honey Bees

 Honey bees, Apis mellifera, maintain constant colony temperatures throughout the year. Honey bees fan their wings to cool the colony, and often spread fluid in conjunction with this behavior to induce evaporative cooling. We present an additional, previously undescribed mechanism used by the honey bee to maintain constant colony temperature in response to localized temperature increases. Worker bees shield the comb from external heat sources by positioning themselves on hot interior regions of the hive's walls. Although honey comb and brood comb were both shielded, the temperature-sensitive brood received a greater number of heat shielders and was thus better protected from overheating. Heat shielding appears to be a context-dependent adaptive behavior performed by worker bees who would previously have been considered "unemployed." Received: 16 November 1998 / Accepted in revised form: 31 March 1999     

Influence of interspecific competition on the recruitment behavior and liquid food transport in the tramp ant species Pheidole megacephala

This study was conducted on the reactions of Pheidole megacephala scouts when finding liquid food sources situated on territories marked by competing dominant ant species or on unmarked, control areas to see if the number of recruited nestmates is affected and if soldiers behave in ways adapted to the situation. We show that scouts recruit more nestmates, particularly soldiers, on marked rather than on unmarked areas. This recruitment allows P. megacephala to organize the defence and rapid depletion of these food sources prior to any contact with competitors. Soldiers can carry liquid foods both (1) in their crops like other Myrmicinae and (2), in a new finding concerning myrmicine ants, under their heads and thoraxes like certain poneromorph genera because the droplets adhere through surface tension strengths. Later, the liquids stored in the crop are distributed to nestmates through regurgitations during trophallaxis and the external droplets are distributed through social buckets, or the mode of liquid food transfer common in poneromorphs. Their flexibility to use or not use the latter technique, based on the situation, corroborates other reports that Pheidole soldiers have a relatively large behavioral repertoire.     

Eolian Dust Affects Phytoplankton in the Waters off Kuwait, the Arabian Gulf

 Summer phytoplankton assemblages from surface waters off Kuwait were enriched with levels of eolian dust (10⁵, 10⁶, and 10⁷ mg/m³), similar to seasonal dust fallout for this region. Algal growth was positive and dose dependent. Highest biomass was up to 527 μg chlorophyll a/l on day 5. The maximum doublings of biomass per day were 0.64, 0.77, and 1.42, corresponding to 10⁵, 10⁶, and 10⁷ mg/m³ enrichment and were significantly higher than the 0.56 for control. Changes in the phytoplankton species composition occurred with changes in biomass, with small algae dominating peak populations. It is suggested that through enrichment of trace elements via eolian dust, a high level of phytoplankton biomass and growth can be sustained in this arid environment. Received: 15 October / Accepted in revised form: 16 June 1999     

A cost of alarm pheromone production in cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii

The sesquiterpene, (E)--farnesene, is used by many aphid species as an alarm pheromone to warn related individuals of predation. Disturbed cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover, released (E)--farnesene into the air as detected by solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Solvent extracts of cotton aphids of various life stages and weights also were analyzed by GC–MS for sums of ions 69 and 93, which discriminated (E)--farnesene from coeluting compounds. Aphids of all life stages and sizes reared on cotton plants in both an environmental chamber and glasshouse contained (E)--farnesene in amounts ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 ng per individual. The quantities of (E)--farnesene in aphids increased in relation to increasing body weight, and variation in individual weights explained about 82% of the variation in alarm pheromone. However, the concentrations (ng/mg fresh weight) declined exponentially with increasing body weight. These findings indicate that aphid nymphs try to compensate for their smaller size by producing relatively more pheromone per weight than adults but still cannot approach an evolutionary optimal load, as assumed in adults with the greatest total amounts. This suggests that young aphids need to balance costs of growth and maturation with costs of producing the alarm pheromone.     

Kinetics of phenol and m-cresol biodegradation by an indigenous mixed microbial culture isolated from a sewage treatment plant

An acclimatized mixed microbial culture, predominantly Pseudomonas sp., was enriched from a sewage treatment plant, and its potential to simultaneously degrade mixtures of phenol and m-cresol was investigated during its growth in batch shake flasks. A 2² full factorial design with the two substrates at two different levels and different initial concentration ranges (low and high), was employed to carry out the biodegradation experiments. The substrates phenol and m-cresol were completely utilized within 21 h when present at low concentrations of 100 mg/L for each, and at high concentration of 600 mg/L for each, a maximum time of 187 h was observed for their removal. The biodegradation results also showed that the presence of phenol in low concentration range (100–300 mg/L) did not inhibit m-cresol biodegradation. Whereas the presence of m-cresol inhibited phenol biodegradation by the culture. Moreover, irrespective of the concentrations used, phenol was degraded preferentially and earlier than m-cresol. A sum kinetics model was used to describe the variation in the substrate specific degradation rates, which gave a high coefficient of determination value (R² > 0.98) at the low concentration range of the substrates. From the estimated interaction parameter values obtained from this model, the inhibitory effect of phenol on m-cresol degradation by the culture was found to be more pronounced compared to that of m-cresol on phenol. This study showed a good potential of the indigenous mixed culture in degrading mixed substrate of phenolics.     

A giant termite from the Late Miocene of Styria, Austria (Isoptera)

A giant termite is described and figured from the Late Miocene of the Styrian Basin in southeastern Austria. Gyatermes styriensis gen. n. et sp. n. is represented by a relatively complete forewing, with basal scale. The fossil approximates in size the largest of all termites today and is the largest fossil termite on record. The presence of this species in the Late Miocene fauna of Europe indicates that climatic conditions were appropriate for the persistence of species and colonies requiring relatively stable, warm conditions. The genus is primitive in overall features but shares some similarity with the dampwood termites.     

响应面法优化Fenton预处理精细化工废水

甘肃省某精细化工企业实际生产废水成分复杂、有机物含量高、可生化性差,为满足后续生化工艺需求,急需开展适宜的预处理技术研究.采用Fenton氧化工艺对该企业废水进行预处理,在单因素试验基础上,以初始pH、H₂O₂投加量、n（H₂O₂）:n（Fe2+）、反应时间为考察因素,COD_Cr去除效果为响应值,构建响应曲面模型,分析4个独立因素及各因素之间的交互作用对COD_Cr去除效果的影响;同时,对反应过程进行表观反应动力学分析,采用紫外光谱及傅立叶变换红外光谱分析废水有机物结构变化,探究该反应过程机理.结果表明:①废水预处理的最佳工艺条件为初始pH 4、H₂O₂投加量8 mL/L、n（H₂O₂）:n（Fe2+）12、反应时间88 min,废水COD_Cr去除率达30.15%;模型的实际运行结果与预测值接近,模型可靠.②Fenton氧化降解该精细化工废水中有机物途径复杂,难以通过单一的底物模型进行拟合.③Fenton氧化能有效降解废水中不饱和有机物,但出水中仍含有酰胺类、不饱和醛类和芳香类化合物.研究显示,Fenton预处理能有效降解废水中难降解有机物,但出水仍未达到后续生化处理要求,还需进一步优化或与其他预处理工艺组合.      

Restoration of Some Parameters in the Development of Benthos After Reduction of Anthropogenous Loading in the Ecosystem of the Sevastopol Bay in the Black Sea

Research on benthic communities have been carried out in the Sevastopol Bay of the Black Sea for a hundred years. The anthropogenous influence began to have an effect already in the 20–30^th. In this period, all oyster-banks were lost and the mussel-silt and mellina-silt communities have begun to degrade and were not found during almost seventy years in the Bay. The worst state of benthic communities was observed in the 60–90^th, when species of bottom animals were not found over some parts of the sea. In this period, only 10 macrozoobenthic species were registered in the Bay. Mollusks: Nassarius reticulatus, Bittium reticulatum, Cerastoderma glaucum and polychaetes: Nephtys hombergii, Neanthes succinea have proved the most enduring at high anthropogenous loadings The faunistic complex of benthic species registered in 1913 had the greatest similarity to the benthic species complex of 2002. Return of mussel, Melinna palmata polychaete and Ascidiella aspersa sea squirt in benthic communities of the Sevastopol Bay are responsible for the similarity between these faunistic complexes. The restoration of local populations of these benthic species has followed the significant decrease of the anthropogenous loading on the sea ecosystems as a result of the significant reduction of the military naval base in the Bay during the last five to ten years.     

The first fossil fungus gardens of Isoptera: oldest evidence of symbiotic termite fungiculture (Miocene, Chad basin)

Higher termites of the subfamily Macrotermitinae (fungus-growing termites) are known to build fungus gardens where a symbiotic fungus (Termitomyces sp.) is cultivated. The fungus grows on a substrate called fungus comb, a structure built with the termites’ own faeces. Here we present the first fossil fungus combs ever found in the world. They were extracted from 7-million-year-old continental sandstone (Chad basin). Fossilized fungus combs have an ovoid morphology with a more or less flattened concave base and a characteristic general alveolar aspect. Under lens, they display a typical millimetre-scale pelletal structure. The latter, as well as the general shape and alveolar aspect, are similar to the morphology of fungus combs from extant fungus-growing termites.