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PloS One 2022The preference-performance hypothesis explains host specificity in phytophagous insects, positing that host plants chosen by adults confer the greatest larval fitness.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
The preference-performance hypothesis explains host specificity in phytophagous insects, positing that host plants chosen by adults confer the greatest larval fitness. However, adults sometimes oviposit on plants supporting low larval success because the components of host specificity (adult preference, plant palatability, and larval survival) are non-binary and not necessarily correlated. Palatability (willingness to eat) is governed by chemical cues and physical barriers such as trichomes, while survival (ability to complete development) depends upon nutrition and toxicity. Absence of a correlation between the components of host specificity results in low-performance hosts supporting limited larval development. Most studies of specificity focus on oviposition behavior leaving the importance and basis of palatability and survival under-explored. We conducted a comprehensive review of 127 plant species that have been claimed or tested to be hosts for the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus to classify them as non-hosts, low performance, or high performance. We performed a meta-analysis to test if performance status could be explained by properties of neurotoxic cardenolides or trichome density. We also conducted a no-choice larval feeding experiment to identify causes of low performance. We identified 34 high performance, 42 low performance, 33 non-hosts, and 18 species with unsubstantiated claims. Mean cardenolide concentration was greater in high- than low-performance hosts and a significant predictor of host status, suggesting possible evolutionary trade-offs in monarch specialization. Other cardenolide properties and trichome density were not significant predictors of host status. In the experiment, we found, of the 62% of larvae that attempted to eat low-performance hosts, only 3.5% survived to adult compared to 85% of those on the high-performance host, demonstrating that multiple factors affect larval host plant specificity. Our study is the first to classify all known host plants for monarchs and has conservation implications for this threatened species.
Topics: Animals; Asclepias; Butterflies; Cardenolides; Female; Host Specificity; Larva
PubMed: 35700160
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269701 -
Journal of Fish Biology Jan 2023Syntheses of knowledge are important to reveal trends, biases and gaps in the scientific literature, indicating main data shortfalls and research needs. In this regard,...
Syntheses of knowledge are important to reveal trends, biases and gaps in the scientific literature, indicating main data shortfalls and research needs. In this regard, the authors conducted a broad systematic review on the literature about freshwater fish eggs and larvae to investigate (a) temporal trends in the global scientific production, (b) the scope and habitat types, (c) the spatial distribution of studies, (d) the fish species contemplated and their respective conservation status and (e) the factors associated with the spatial distribution of studies. They analysed 654 studies published between 1950 and 2020. The number of studies has increased over time, but with a weak trend. Most studies investigated basic questions about biology and ecology and were carried out chiefly in rivers and lakes. These studies covered 95 freshwater ecoregions (22.3% of all ecoregions) and recorded 871 fish species (4.8% of all freshwater fish currently described). Most species were assessed by the IUCN and classified into six threat categories, but approximately 35% were not evaluated. The main drivers affecting the spatial distribution of studies were ecoregion area, road density, river volume and the number of hydroelectric plants. Results point to significant biases and gaps in the global scientific literature on fish eggs and larvae, especially associated with habitat type, spatial distribution and target species, emphasizing the need to address specific topics. Such biases and gaps indicate the existence of important data shortfalls, which compromise management and conservation planning, as information on fish eggs and larvae is basic and critical for the assessment of fish recruitment and population dynamics.
Topics: Animals; Bias; Ecosystem; Fishes; Fresh Water; Larva; Rivers
PubMed: 36209499
DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15242 -
World Journal of Microbiology &... Jul 2020Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is one of the most promising biological control agents used commercially. Its products can contribute to reducing ecological and...
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is one of the most promising biological control agents used commercially. Its products can contribute to reducing ecological and environmental problems associated with the use of chemical pesticides. Among the limiting factors of using Bt as bioinsecticide are the costs and ensuring its biological activity, which may vary according to the strain and culture conditions. This systematic review aimed to collect state-of-the-art information on the production of Bt endotoxins and to score the methodological feasibility of the data obtained, thus highlighting possible incoherencies. In order to consolidate recent findings and guide future studies, a total of 47 original articles from the last 10 years was analysed, with special attention being given to corroborating data, identifying inconsistencies and suggesting future adjustments so as to increase data reliability. With a maximum score of 8 points, three production parameters were classified on the following scale: preferable (score: 2), adequate (score: 1) and inadequate (score: 0), and another two parameter were classified as adequate (score: 1) or inadequate (score: 0). No article scored more than 6 out of the maximum of 8, thus reflecting the need for more detailed studies regarding Bt endotoxin production. The lack of standardization of methods and units of measurement also have made a comparison of results and an overall analysis difficult. Standards are suggested in the present study. The inclusion of bioassays and quantifying toxin via alkaline dilution are strongly recommended for studies of this nature, along with LC50 expressed in mg/L. Sixteen articles (34%) did not use either of these suggested methods, which indicates the need for further supporting studies. These findings reinforce the need for robust studies in this area, which could include the development of more affordable and effective bioinsecticides, thus increasing their competitiveness against insecticides derived from unsustainable sources.
Topics: Animals; Bacillus thuringiensis; Bacillus thuringiensis Toxins; Biological Assay; Biological Control Agents; Databases, Factual; Endotoxins; Insecticides; Larva; Pest Control, Biological
PubMed: 32712871
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-020-02904-4 -
International Journal of Environmental... Aug 2020It is estimated that 2% of the population in developing countries suffer from a chronic wound, making it a hidden phenomenon that is increasing as populations age. The...
BACKGROUND
It is estimated that 2% of the population in developing countries suffer from a chronic wound, making it a hidden phenomenon that is increasing as populations age. The ease of access to maggot therapy has made it increasingly attractive for implementation. This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of maggot therapy as compared to hydrogel dressings in the healing of chronic wounds.
METHODS
An electronic literature search until October 2019 was performed using Medline, Embase, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature. The eligibility criteria were chronic wound patients with an intervention that involved a comparison of any maggot species with hydrogel dressings.
RESULTS
The full text of five studies, involving 580 patients with chronic wounds, was retrieved. Four studies used the Lucilia sericata species. The maggot therapy facilitated faster and more effective debridement of non-viable tissue. It enabled faster development of granulation tissue and increased reduction in the wound surface area compared to hydrogel dressings. Maggot therapy had no effect on disinfection or complete healing rate for the wound.
CONCLUSION
Maggot therapy should be considered for faster wound debridement, granulation tissue development, and wound surface area reduction as well as in surgical contraindications. This review can be used as a guide to assist clinicians in identifying patients who may benefit from maggot therapy.
Topics: Animals; Debridement; Diptera; Humans; Larva; Wound Healing
PubMed: 32825736
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17176103 -
CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics Apr 2021Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide and has complicated underlying pathophysiology. Numerous TBI animal models have been...
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide and has complicated underlying pathophysiology. Numerous TBI animal models have been developed over the past decade to effectively mimic the human TBI pathophysiology. These models are of mostly mammalian origin including rodents and non-human primates. However, the mammalian models demanded higher costs and have lower throughput often limiting the progress in TBI research. Thus, this systematic review aims to discuss the potential benefits of non-mammalian TBI models in terms of their face validity in resembling human TBI. Three databases were searched as follows: PubMed, Scopus, and Embase, for original articles relating to non-mammalian TBI models, published between January 2010 and December 2019. A total of 29 articles were selected based on PRISMA model for critical appraisal. Zebrafish, both larvae and adult, was found to be the most utilized non-mammalian TBI model in the current literature, followed by the fruit fly and roundworm. In conclusion, non-mammalian TBI models have advantages over mammalian models especially for rapid, cost-effective, and reproducible screening of effective treatment strategies and provide an opportunity to expedite the advancement of TBI research.
Topics: Animals; Biomedical Research; Brain Injuries, Traumatic; Caenorhabditis elegans; Disease Models, Animal; Drosophila melanogaster; High-Energy Shock Waves; Larva; Zebrafish
PubMed: 33539662
DOI: 10.1111/cns.13590 -
Environmental Science and Pollution... Apr 2020The use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) has arisen as a promising biological platform for toxicity testing of pesticides such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides....
The use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) has arisen as a promising biological platform for toxicity testing of pesticides such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Therefore, it is relevant to assess the use of zebrafish in models of exposure to investigate the diversity of pesticide-associated toxicity endpoints which have been reported. Thus, this review aimed to assess the recent literature on the use of zebrafish in pesticide toxicity studies to capture data on the types of pesticide used, classes of pesticides, and zebrafish life stages associated with toxicity endpoints and phenotypic observations. A total of 352 articles published between September 2012 and May 2019 were curated. The results show an increased trend in the use of zebrafish for testing the toxicity of pesticides, with a great diversity of pesticides (203) and chemical classes (58) with different applications (41) being used. Furthermore, experimental outcomes could be clustered in 13 toxicity endpoints, mainly developmental toxicity, oxidative stress, and neurotoxicity. Organophosphorus, pyrethroid, azole, and triazine were the most studied classes of pesticides and associated with various toxicity endpoints. Studies frequently opted for early life stages (embryos and larvae). Although there is an evident lack of standardization of nomenclatures and phenotypic alterations, the information gathered here highlights associations between (classes of) pesticides and endpoints, which can be used to relate mechanisms of action specific to certain classes of chemicals.
Topics: Animals; Embryo, Nonmammalian; Insecticides; Larva; Pesticides; Toxicity Tests; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Zebrafish
PubMed: 32062774
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-07902-5 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2019Malaria elimination remains a priority research agenda with the need for interventions that reduce and/or block malaria transmission from humans to mosquitoes.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Malaria elimination remains a priority research agenda with the need for interventions that reduce and/or block malaria transmission from humans to mosquitoes. Transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) are in development, most of which target the transmission stage (i.e., gametocyte) antigens Pfs230 and Pfs48/45. For these interventions to be implemented, there is a need to understand the naturally acquired immunity to gametocytes. Several studies have measured the prevalence of immune responses to Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 in populations in malaria-endemic areas. We conducted a systematic review of studies carried out in African populations that measured the prevalence of immune responses to the gametocyte antigens Pfs230 and Pfs48/45. We assessed seroprevalence of antibody responses to the two antigens and investigated the effects of covariates such as age, transmission intensity/endemicity, season, and parasite prevalence on the prevalence of these antibody responses by meta-regression. We identified 12 studies covering 23 sites for inclusion in the analysis. We found that the range of reported seroprevalence to Pfs230 and Pfs48/45 varied widely across studies, from 0 to 64% for Pfs48/45 and from 6 to 72% for Pfs230. We also found a modest association between increased age and increased seroprevalence to Pfs230: adults were associated with higher seroprevalence estimates in comparison to children (β coefficient 0.21, 95% CI: 0.05-0.38, = 0.042). Methodological factors were the most significant contributors to heterogeneity between studies which prevented calculation of pooled prevalence estimates. Naturally acquired sexual stage immunity, as detected by antibodies to Pfs230 and Pfs48/45, was present in most studies analyzed. Significant between-study heterogeneity was seen, and methodological factors were a major contributor to this, and prevented further analysis of epidemiological and biological factors. This demonstrates a need for standardized protocols for conducting and reporting seroepidemiological analyses.
Topics: Africa; Antibodies, Protozoan; Antigens, Protozoan; Female; Humans; Life Cycle Stages; Malaria Vaccines; Malaria, Falciparum; Male; Plasmodium falciparum
PubMed: 31695697
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02480 -
Global Change Biology May 2024Amphibians and fishes play a central role in shaping the structure and function of freshwater environments. These organisms have a limited capacity to disperse across...
Amphibians and fishes play a central role in shaping the structure and function of freshwater environments. These organisms have a limited capacity to disperse across different habitats and the thermal buffer offered by freshwater systems is small. Understanding determinants and patterns of their physiological sensitivity across life history is, therefore, imperative to predicting the impacts of climate change in freshwater systems. Based on a systematic literature review including 345 experiments with 998 estimates on 96 amphibian (Anura/Caudata) and 93 freshwater fish species (Teleostei), we conducted a quantitative synthesis to explore phylogenetic, ontogenetic, and biogeographic (thermal adaptation) patterns in upper thermal tolerance (CT) and thermal acclimation capacity (acclimation response ratio, ARR) as well as the influence of the methodology used to assess these thermal traits using a conditional inference tree analysis. We found globally consistent patterns in CT and ARR, with phylogeny (taxa/order), experimental methodology, climatic origin, and life stage as significant determinants of thermal traits. The analysis demonstrated that CT does not primarily depend on the climatic origin but on experimental acclimation temperature and duration, and life stage. Higher acclimation temperatures and longer acclimation times led to higher CT values, whereby Anuran larvae revealed a higher CT than older life stages. The ARR of freshwater fishes was more than twice that of amphibians. Differences in ARR between life stages were not significant. In addition to phylogenetic differences, we found that ARR also depended on acclimation duration, ramping rate, and adaptation to local temperature variability. However, the amount of data on early life stages is too small, methodologically inconsistent, and phylogenetically unbalanced to identify potential life cycle bottlenecks in thermal traits. We, therefore, propose methods to improve the robustness and comparability of CT/ARR data across species and life stages, which is crucial for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity under climate change.
Topics: Animals; Acclimatization; Fishes; Fresh Water; Amphibians; Global Warming; Phylogeny; Climate Change; Temperature
PubMed: 38771091
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17318 -
Experimental Parasitology Apr 2021Schistosome parasites are complex trematode blood flukes responsible for the disease schistosomiasis; a global health concern prevalent in many tropical and sub-tropical...
Schistosome parasites are complex trematode blood flukes responsible for the disease schistosomiasis; a global health concern prevalent in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. While established transcriptomic databases are accessed ad hoc to facilitate studies characterising specific genes or gene families, a more comprehensive systematic updating of gene annotation and survey of the literature to aid in annotation and context is rarely addressed. We have reanalysed an online transcriptomic dataset originally published in 2009, where seven life cycle stages of Schistosoma japonicum were examined. Using the online pathway analysis tool Reactome, we have revisited key data from the original study. A key focus of this study was to improve the interpretation of the gene expression profile of the developmental lung-stage schistosomula, since it is one of the principle targets for worm elimination. Highly enriched transcripts, associated with lung schistosomula, were related to a number of important biological pathways including host immune evasion, energy metabolism and parasitic development. Revisiting large transcriptomic databases should be considered in the context of substantial new literature. This approach could aid in the improved understanding of the molecular basis of parasite biology. This may lead to the identification of new targets for diagnosis and therapies for schistosomes, and other helminths.
Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Cell Degranulation; Datasets as Topic; Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative; Host-Parasite Interactions; Life Cycle Stages; Lung; Lung Diseases, Parasitic; Neutrophils; Peptide Elongation Factor 1; Schistosoma japonicum; Schistosomiasis japonica; Transcriptome
PubMed: 33548219
DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2021.108080 -
Parasitology Apr 2021A prior systematic review on the efficacy of halofuginone (HFG) treatment to prevent or treat cryptosporidiosis in bovine calves was inconclusive. We undertook an... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
A prior systematic review on the efficacy of halofuginone (HFG) treatment to prevent or treat cryptosporidiosis in bovine calves was inconclusive. We undertook an updated synthesis and meta-analyses on key outcomes for the treatment of calves with HFG. Evaluated outcomes were oocyst shedding, diarrhoea, mortality and weight gain. Experiments had to describe results for same age animals in contemporary arms. Most doses were 100-150 mcg kg-1 day-1. Results were subgrouped by study design, experiments with the lowest risk of bias and lack of industry funding. Eighteen articles were found that described 25 experiments. Most evidence came from randomized controlled trials in Europe. Significantly lower incidence of oocyst shedding, diarrhoea burden and mortality was reported when treatment started before calves were 5 days old. Most studies reported on outcomes for animals up to at least 28 days old. Publication bias was possible in all outcomes and seemed especially likely for diarrhoea outcomes. Beneficial results when HFG treatment was initiated in calves older than 5 days were also found. Prophylactic treatment to prevent cryptosporidiosis is effective in preventing multiple negative outcomes and is beneficial to calf health and will result in a reduction of environmental contamination by Cryptosporidium oocysts.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Coccidiostats; Cryptosporidiosis; Cryptosporidium parvum; Diarrhea; Feces; Oocysts; Piperidines; Quinazolinones; Weight Gain
PubMed: 33261668
DOI: 10.1017/S0031182020002267