Quality Control of Trichogramma atopovirilia and Trichogramma pretiosum (Hym.: Trichogrammatidae) adults reared under laboratory conditions

The objective of this work was to assess the flight capacity, parasitism and emergence of Trichogramma atopoviriliaand two strains of T. pretiosum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) (L1 and L2). The flight capacity of these species was assessed in test units consisting of a plastic PVC cylinder with a rigid transparent plastic circle on the upper part and an extruded polystyrene disk closing its bottom. A tube was placed in each test unit containing a card with 300 Anagasta kuehniella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) eggs parasitised by Trichogramma. These cards were assessed to determine the parasitism rate and adult emergence of these natural enemies. T. atopovirilia and T. pretiosum L1 presented adequate flight capacity and parasitism, in addition to high percentages of adults emerged

Interactions Between Bt-Bioinsecticides and Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a Predator of Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

Bioinsecticides are being increasingly used to protect vegetable crops against herbivores, but data on the side effects of such strategy on the third trophic level are still required. We investigated the influence of the Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki HD-1 strain and of the commercial bioinsecticide Agree® on the biological aspects of the predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) when feeding on Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)-infected larvae. On average, infected larvae were consumed more often than the non-infected larvae throughout the predator nymphal development, and no effect on nymph survival was observed. Population growth parameters (R0, rm, and λ) resulting from the fertility life tables did not differ among treatments. The results led to the conclusion that P. nigrispinus can be used in combination with the product Agree® or the strain HD-1 for the control of P. xylostella. The combined use of these control agents helps to maintain the balance of the ecosystem and contributes for the production of food for healthy human consumption.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Lab de Biologia e Criação de Insetos, Depto de Fitossanidade, FCAV/UnespDepto de Biologia, Univ de São PauloLab de Biologia e Criação de Insetos, Depto de Fitossanidade, FCAV/Unes

Changes in Proteome Profile of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Chronic Chagas Disease

Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc) infection causes chagasic cardiomyopathy; however, why 30–40% of the patients develop clinical disease is not known. To discover the pathomechanisms in disease progression, we obtained the proteome signature of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of normal healthy controls (N/H, n = 30) and subjects that were seropositive for Tc-specific antibodies, but were clinically asymptomatic (C/A, n = 25) or clinically symptomatic (C/S, n = 28) with cardiac involvement and left ventricular dysfunction. Protein samples were labeled with BODIPY FL-maleimide (dynamic range: > 4 orders of magnitude, detection limit: 5 f-mol) and resolved by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE). After normalizing the gel images, protein spots that exhibited differential abundance in any of the two groups were analyzed by mass spectrometry, and searched against UniProt human database for protein identification. We found 213 and 199 protein spots (fold change: |≥ 1.5|, p93% prediction success in classifying infected individuals with no disease and those with cardiac involvement and LV dysfunction. In conclusion, we have identified molecular pathways and a panel of proteins that could aid in detecting seropositive individuals at risk of developing cardiomyopathy.Fil: Garg, Nisha Jain. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Soman, Kizhake V.. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Zago, María Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Patología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Patología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Koo, Sue-Jie. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Spratt, Heidi. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Stafford,Susan. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Blell, Zinzi N.. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Gupta, Shivali. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Nuñez Burgos, Julio. Provincia de Salta. Hospital San Bernardo; ArgentinaFil: Barrientos, Natalia Mariel. Provincia de Salta. Hospital San Bernardo; ArgentinaFil: Brassier, Allan R.. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados UnidosFil: Wiktorowicz, John E.. University of Texas Medical Branch; Estados Unido