Gouldbutler4276

) (Coleoptera Cerambycidae). Location and time of sampling also significantly affected responses for multiple species of parasitoids. These findings contribute to the basic understanding of cues that parasitoids use to locate hosts and suggest that pheromones can be used to hypothesize host relationships between some species of cerambycids and their parasitoids. Future work should evaluate response by known species of parasitoids to the complete blends of pheromones used by the cerambycids they attack, as well as other odors that are associated with host trees of cerambycids.We investigated geographic variation in the semiochemistry of major disturbance agents of western North American pine forests, Dendroctonus brevicomis Le Conte and Dendroctonus barberi Hopkins (Coleoptera Curculionidae Scolytinae), species separated by the Great Basin in the USA that until recently were synonymous. At 15 sites in the western USA and northern Mexico, beetle populations were examined to determine (1) pheromone production by solitary, mining females, (2) male electroantennogram amplitudes in response to known semiochemicals for the genus, or (3) relative attractiveness of two female-produced pheromone components (endo- and exo-brevicomin) and two host odors (alpha-pinene and myrcene) to beetles in the field. Compared to female beetles collected east of the Great Basin (D. barberi), western females (D. brevicomis) produced a consistently higher proportion of, and male antenna were correspondingly more sensitive to, the exo- than the endo-isomer of brevicomin. With the exception of one sampling location (where no preference was observed), beetles west of the Great Basin were more attracted to exo- than endo- brevicomin trap lures, whereas eastern beetles displayed the reverse preference. In contrast, there was not a consistent difference between these populations regarding relative attraction or olfactory response to myrcene or alpha-pinene, although some geographic variability was evident. These data show that the semiochemical systems of D. brevicomis and D. barberi have diverged and corroborate genetic and morphological evidence that they are distinct, allopatric species.Plant-derived volatiles play a significant role in host selection of phytophagous insects, but their role in seasonal host shifts remain unclear. The polyphagous mirid bug Apolygus lucorum displays marked seasonal host alternation. During summer, volatiles from flowering plants play a key role in A. lucorum foraging. find more Though A. lucorum adults deposit overwintering eggs on jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) and grape (Vitis vinifera) during autumn, it is unclear whether plant volatiles equally mediate this host selection behavior. During 2015 and 2016, we found that population densities of A. lucorum adults on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) during August were higher than those in September, whereas the opposite pattern was observed on fruit trees (i.e., jujube and grape). The dispersal factor of the adult population that dispersed from cotton fields during September was higher than in August, whereas opposite patterns were observed in the neighboring jujube/grape orchard. In Y-tube olfactometer trials, A. lucorum adults preferred cotton plant volatiles over fruit tree odors in August, whereas the opposite patterns were found in September. Three electro-physiologically active volatiles (butyl acrylate, butyl propionate and butyl butyrate) were identified from jujube and grape plants. During September, active volatiles are emitted in considerably greater amounts by jujube and grape than in August, while the amount of volatile emissions in cotton decreases in September. Temporal shifts in plant volatile emission thus may modulate host plant foraging of A. lucorum, and appear to guide its colonization of different host plants. Our findings help understand the role of plant volatiles in the host plant selection and seasonal dynamics of polyphagous herbivores.Host-pathogen interactions involve a complex interplay between host and pathogen factors, resulting in either host protective immunity or establishment of disease. One of the hallmarks for disease progression is host tissue destruction. The first host surface to interact with the opportunistic respiratory fungal pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus, is the airway epithelium. Unravelling the mechanisms involved in airway epithelial cell damage by A. fumigatus is essential to understanding the establishment and progression of infection in the host. Although host cell damage can be measured in vitro by indirect cell lysis assays, here, we describe an automated, simple, and low-cost assay to directly visualize and quantify epithelial cell line damage after challenge with A. fumigatus. We employ the previously characterized tissue noninvasive A. fumigatus ΔpacC mutant to demonstrate the quantitative difference in cell damage relative to its parental tissue invasive strain. This assay is easily scaled up for high-throughput screening of multiple Aspergillus mutants and can be adapted to suit diverse host cell lines, different time points of infection, challenge with other microbes, and drugs or novel compounds.In addition to causing acute invasive infections in immunocompromised patients, the mold Aspergillus fumigatus causes chronic infections in patients with chronic pulmonary conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Here we describe a non-lethal model of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in which immunocompetent mice are endotracheally infected with A. fumigatus conidia embedded in agar beads. This approach results in the establishment of hyphal infection within the airways of mice for up to a 28-day period and is amenable to the study of innate and adaptive antifungal responses, fungal mutant strains, and antifungal agents.Animal models are fundamental to unravel the complex nature of fungal infections in the host context. Here, a versatile murine model of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is described. This model can be used to investigate the establishment and progression of fungal infections after HCT and to elucidate how different transplant variables affect the recovery of host immunity.