Long-Term Prophylactic Antibiotic Treatment : Effects on Survival, Immunocompetence and Reproduction Success of Parasemia plantaginis (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)

Hundreds of insect species are nowadays reared under laboratory conditions. Rearing of insects always implicates the risk of diseases, among which microbial infections are the most frequent and difficult problems. Although there are effective prophylactic treatments, the side effects of applied antibiotics are not well understood. We examined the effect of prophylactic antibiotic treatment on the overwintering success of wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) larvae, and the postdiapause effect on their life-history traits. Four weeks before hibernation larvae were treated with a widely used antibiotic (fumagillin). We monitored moths' survival and life-history traits during the following 10 mo, and compared them to those of untreated control larvae. Prophylactic antibiotic treatment had no effect on survival but we show effects on some life-history traits by decreasing the developmental time of treated larvae. However, we also revealed relevant negative effects, as antibiotic treated individuals show a decreased number of laid eggs and also furthermore a suppressed immunocompetence. These results implicate, that a prophylactic medication can also lead to negative effects on life-history traits and reproductive success, which should be seriously taken in consideration when applying a prophylactic treatment to laboratory reared insect populations.Peer reviewe

Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskelijoiden psykoaktiivisten aineiden käyttö

Opinnäytetyön aihe kumpusi tekijöiden kiinnostuksesta tutkia oman ammattikorkeakoulunsa opiskelijoiden psykoaktiivisten aineiden (rajauksena alkoholi, kannabis ja tupakka) käyttöä, sillä Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulusta ei löydy vastaavaa aikaisemmin tehtyä tutkimusta. Aihe esiteltiin Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskeluterveydenhuollon edustajille, jotka osoittivat kiinnostuksensa aihetta kohtaan. Opinnäytetyön yhteistyökumppanit ovatkin Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulu sekä – opiskeluterveydenhuolto. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli saada Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskeluterveydenhuollolle ajantasaista tietoa Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskelijoiden psykoaktiivisten aineiden (alkoholi, tupakka, kannabis) käytöstä. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tuoda esille koulukohtainen käsitys siitä, minkälaista Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskelijoiden psykoaktiivisten aineiden käyttö on tällä hetkellä. Opinnäytetyön tutkimuskysymykset ovat: ”Mikä on psykoaktiivisten aineiden käytön tilanne Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskelijoiden keskuudessa tällä hetkellä?” sekä ”Miksi Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskelijat käyttävät psykoaktiivisia aineita?”. Työssä haluttiin myös tarkastella sitä, vaikuttavatko opiskelu, opiskeltava koulutusohjelma, ikä, sukupuoli tai perhe opiskelijoiden psykoaktiivisten aineiden käyttöön. Tutkimusta varten koottiin kyselylomake, joka lähetettiin Jyväskylän ammattikorkeakoulun opiskelijoille sähköpostitse. Tutkimustulokset analysoitiin käyttämällä kvalitatiivista ja kvantitatiivista tutkimusmenetelmää sekä SPSS-ohjelmaa. Työ aloitettiin syksyllä 2012 teoriatiedon keruulla. Tutkimuslupahakemus työtä varten saatiin maaliskuussa 2013. Tutkimus suoritettiin huhtikuussa 2013 Digium Enterprise-ohjelmistoa hyödyntäen. Tulokset analysoitiin ja raportti koottiin lopulliseen muotoonsa huhti-toukokuun 2013 aikana.Theme for the thesis was selected due to the interest of the authors’ towards usage of psychoactive substances (including alcohol, cannabis and tobacco) among the students of their own university of applied sciences since there are no similar studies done before. The subject was presented to the representatives of JAMK student health services, who showed positive interest. The collaborators of the thesis are JAMK University of Applied Sciences and City of Jyväskylä Social and Health Services. The goal of the thesis was to bring JAMK student health services current data of usage of psychoactive substances (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis) of students in JAMK University of Applied Sciences. The purpose of the thesis was to create an image of the usage of psychoactive substances of students of JAMK University of Applied Sciences at present. The questionnaire for the thesis were the following: “What is the situation of the usage of psychoactive substances among the students of JAMK University of Applied Sciences?” and “Why do the students of JAMK University of Applied Sciences use psychoactive substances?”. The thesis aimed to reflect if studies, degree programme, age, sex or family background in the usage of psychoactive substances. A questionnaire was developed which was sent to the students of JAMK University of Applied Sciences via email. The results of the study were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative research methods, and with SPSS programme. The work began in autumn 2012 with collection of theoretical research information. A study permit application for the thesis was granted in March 2013. The study carried out in April 2013 with Digium Enterprise-software. The results were analyzed and a report was assembled in its final form during April and May of 2013

Coinfection outcome in an opportunistic pathogen depends on the inter-strain interactions

Background: In nature, organisms are commonly coinfected by two or more parasite strains, which has been shown to influence disease virulence. Yet, the effects of coinfections of environmental opportunistic pathogens on disease outcome are still poorly known, although as host-generalists they are highly likely to participate in coinfections. We asked whether coinfection with conspecific opportunistic strains leads to changes in virulence, and if these changes are associated with bacterial growth or interference competition. We infected zebra fish (Danio rerio) with three geographically and/or temporally distant environmental opportunist Flavobacterium columnare strains in single and in coinfection. Growth of the strains was studied in single and in co-cultures in liquid medium, and interference competition (growth-inhibiting ability) on agar. Results: The individual strains differed in their virulence, growth and ability for interference competition. Number of coinfecting strains significantly influenced the virulence of infection, with three-strain coinfection differing from the two-strain and single infections. Differences in virulence seemed to associate with the identity of the coinfecting bacterial strains, and their pairwise interactions. This indicates that benefits of competitive ability (production of growth-inhibiting compounds) for virulence are highest when multiple strains co-occur, whereas the high virulence in coinfection may be independent from in vitro bacterial growth. Conclusions: Intraspecific competition can lead to plastic increase in virulence, likely caused by faster utilization of host resources stimulated by the competitive interactions between the strains. However, disease outcome depends both on the characteristics of individual strains and their interactions. Our results highlight the importance of strain interactions in disease dynamics in environments where various pathogen genotypes co-occur.peerReviewe

Social transmission of avoidance among predators facilitates the spread of novel prey

Warning signals are an effective defence strategy for aposematic prey, but only if they are recognized by potential predators. If predators must eat prey to associate novel warning signals with unpalatability, how can aposematic prey ever evolve? Using experiments with great tits (Parus major) as predators, we show that social transmission enhances the acquisition of avoidance by a predator population. Observing another predator’s disgust towards tasting one novel conspicuous prey item led to fewer aposematic than cryptic prey being eaten for the predator population to learn. Despite reduced personal encounters with unpalatable prey, avoidance persisted and increased over subsequent trials. Next we use a mathematical model to show that social transmission can shift the evolutionary trajectory of prey populations from fixation of crypsis to fixation of aposematism more easily than was previously thought. Therefore, social information use by predators has the potential to have evolutionary consequences across ecological communities.Peer reviewe

Sub-μ\mu structured Lotus Surfaces Manufacturing

Sub-micro structured surfaces allow modifying the behavior of polymer films or components. Especially in micro fluidics a lotus-like characteristic is requested for many applications. Structure details with a high aspect ratio are necessary to decouple the bottom and the top of the functional layer. Unlike to stochastic methods, patterning with a LIGA-mold insert it is possible to structure surfaces very uniformly or even with controlled variations (e.g. with gradients). In this paper we present the process chain to realize polymer sub-micro structures with minimum lateral feature size of 400 nm and up to 4 micrometers high.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/16838

Within-host evolution decreases virulence in an opportunistic bacterial pathogen

Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Mikonranta et al.Background: Pathogens evolve in a close antagonistic relationship with their hosts. The conventional theory proposes that evolution of virulence is highly dependent on the efficiency of direct host-to-host transmission. Many opportunistic pathogens, however, are not strictly dependent on the hosts due to their ability to reproduce in the free-living environment. Therefore it is likely that conflicting selection pressures for growth and survival outside versus within the host, rather than transmission potential, shape the evolution of virulence in opportunists. We tested the role of within-host selection in evolution of virulence by letting a pathogen Serratia marcescens db11 sequentially infect Drosophila melanogaster hosts and then compared the virulence to strains that evolved only in the outside-host environment. Results: We found that the pathogen adapted to both Drosophila melanogaster host and novel outside-host environment, leading to rapid evolutionary changes in the bacterial life-history traits including motility, in vitro growth rate, biomass yield, and secretion of extracellular proteases. Most significantly, selection within the host led to decreased virulence without decreased bacterial load while the selection lines in the outside-host environment maintained the same level of virulence with ancestral bacteria. Conclusions: This experimental evidence supports the idea that increased virulence is not an inevitable consequence of within-host adaptation even when the epidemiological restrictions are removed. Evolution of attenuated virulence could occur because of immune evasion within the host. Alternatively, rapid fluctuation between outside-host and within-host environments, which is typical for the life cycle of opportunistic bacterial pathogens, could lead to trade-offs that lower pathogen virulence.Peer reviewe

Putting Parasemia in its phylogenetic place : a molecular analysis of the subtribe Arctiina (Lepidoptera)

Despite being popular among amateur and professional lepidopterologists and posing great opportunities for evolutionary research, the phylogenetic relationships of tiger moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) are not well resolved. Here we provide the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subtribe Arctiina with the basic aim of clarifying the phylogenetic position of the Wood Tiger Moth Parasemia plantaginis Hubner, a model species in evolutionary ecology. We sampled 89 species in 52 genera within Arctiina s.l., 11 species of Callimorphina and two outgroup species. We sequenced up to seven nuclear genes (CAD, GAPDH, IDH, MDH, Ef1, RpS5, Wingless) and one mitochondrial gene (COI) including the barcode region (a total of 5915 bp). Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference resulted in a well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis, consisting of four clades within Arctiina s.s. and a clade comprising spilosomine species in addition to Callimorphina and outgroups. Based on our results, we present a new classification, where we consider the Diacrisia clade, Chelis clade, Apantesis clade, Micrarctia Seitz and Arctia clade as valid genera within Arctiina s.s., whereas Rhyparia Hubner syn.n. and Rhyparioides Butler syn.n. are synonymized with Diacrisia Hubner; Neoarctia Neumoegen & Dyar syn.n., Tancrea Pungeler syn.n., Hyperborea Grum-Grshimailo syn.n., Palearctia Ferguson syn.n., Holoarctia Ferguson syn.n., Sibirarctia Dubatolov syn.n. and Centrarctia Dubatolov syn.n. are synonymized with Chelis Rambur; Grammia Rambur syn.n., Orodemnias Wallengren syn.n., Mimarctia Neumoegen & Dyar syn.n., Notarctia Smith syn.n. and Holarctia Smith syn.n. are synonymized with Apantesis Walker; and Epicallia Hubner syn.n., Eucharia Hubner syn.n., Hyphoraia Hubner syn.n., Parasemia Hubner syn.n., Pericallia Hubner syn.n., Nemeophila Stephens syn.n., Ammobiota Wallengren syn.n., Platarctia Packard syn.n., Chionophila Guenee syn.n., Eupsychoma Grote syn.n., Gonerda Moore syn.n., Platyprepia Dyar syn.n., Preparctia Hampson syn.n., Oroncus Seitz syn.n., Acerbia Sotavalta syn.n., Pararctia Sotavalta syn.n., Borearctia Dubatolov syn.n., Sinoarctia Dubatolov syn.n. and Atlantarctia Dubatolov syn.n. are synonymized with Arctia Schrank, leading to 33 new genus-level synonymies. Our focal species Arctia plantaginiscomb.n. is placed as sister to Arctia festivacomb.n., another widespread aposematic species showing wing pattern variation. Our molecular hypothesis can be used as a basis when adding more species to the tree and tackling interesting evolutionary questions, such as the evolution of warning signalling and mimicry in tiger moths.Peer reviewe

Can video playback provide social information for foraging blue tits?

Video playback is becoming a common method for manipulating social stimuli in experiments. Parid tits are one of the most commonly studied groups of wild birds. However, it is not yet clear if tits respond to video playback or how their behavioural responses should be measured. Behaviours may also differ depending on what they observe demonstrators encountering. Here we present blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) videos of demonstrators discovering palatable or aversive prey (injected with bitter-tasting Bitrex) from coloured feeding cups. First we quantify variation in demonstrators' responses to the prey items: aversive prey provoked high rates of beak wiping and head shaking. We then show that focal blue tits respond differently to the presence of a demonstrator on a video screen, depending on whether demonstrators discover palatable or aversive prey. Focal birds faced the video screen more during aversive prey presentations, and made more head turns. Regardless of prey type, focal birds also hopped more frequently during the presence of a demonstrator (compared to a control video of a different coloured feeding cup in an empty cage). Finally, we tested if demonstrators' behaviour affected focal birds' food preferences by giving individuals a choice to forage from the same cup as a demonstrator, or from the cup in the control video. We found that only half of the individuals made their choice in accordance to social information in the videos, i.e., their foraging choices were not different from random. Individuals that chose in accordance with a demonstrator, however, made their choice faster than individuals that chose an alternative cup. Together, our results suggest that video playback can provide social cues to blue tits, but individuals vary greatly in how they use this information in their foraging decisions.Peer reviewe