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Poultry Science Jun 2024Presently, there has been a noticeable rise in the consumption of poultry meat within the general population, particularly focusing on poultry sourced from alternative...
Presently, there has been a noticeable rise in the consumption of poultry meat within the general population, particularly focusing on poultry sourced from alternative rearing systems as opposed to intensive ones. This study evaluated the impact of incorporating house cricket (Acheta domesticus,AD) larvae meal into the diet of 2 slow-growing chicken strains on their carcass traits and meat quality. A total of 256 one-day-old male chicks were utilized, with 128 belonging to the Red (R) strain and 128 to the Naked Neck (NN) strain. Chicks from each strain were randomly assigned to 16 replicates of 8 chicks each. Eight replicates were allocated to 2 distinct treatments (n=64 chicks/treatment) based on the diet employed: the control treatments for the Red (R-C) and Naked Neck (NN-C) strains were fed soybean meal, while the other 2 treatments were fed AD meal (R-AD and NN-AD). Three different rations were used throughout the growth cycle of the animals, tailored to meet the nutritional needs of the birds. All chickens were slaughtered at 95 d of age, and eight chickens per treatment were randomly chosen to assess carcass traits and meat quality. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was employed to classify meat based on the feed and the chick strain, achieving a correct discrimination of 100% of the samples. The carcass traits exhibited significant alterations due to the inclusion of insect larval meal in the diet, resulting in reduced values across all parameters for chickens consuming AD meal, irrespective of genotype. The pH and cooking losses were generally higher for chicks fed cricket meal, as occurred with moisture. However, protein content was lower in the meat of chicks consuming cricket meal. Fat content showed lower values for NN chickens. There were minimal differences in the fatty acid profile, with lower C18:3n-3 values for chickens fed cricket meal. Therefore, including Acheta domesticus meal in the diets of slow-growing chick strains is a viable alternative to replace soybean meal. It provides meat quality characteristics comparable to those obtained in conventional systems.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Animal Feed; Diet; Male; Meat; Larva; Gryllidae; Random Allocation; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 38569242
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103684 -
PloS One 2024Haiku are short poems, each composed of about 10 words, that typically describe moments in nature. People have written haiku since at least the 17th century, and the...
Haiku are short poems, each composed of about 10 words, that typically describe moments in nature. People have written haiku since at least the 17th century, and the medium continues to be popular with poets, amateurs, educators, and students. Collectively, these poems represent an opportunity to understand which aspects of nature-e.g., which taxa and biological traits-resonate with humans and whether there are temporal trends in their representation or the emotions associated with these moments. We tested this potential using a mix of linguistic and biological methods, in analyses of nearly 4,000 haiku that reference arthropods. We documented the taxa and the life history traits represented in these poems and how they changed over time. We also analyzed the poems for emotion and tone. Our results reveal a mix of predictable trends and compelling surprises, each of which stand to potentially inform engagement strategies. At least 99 families of arthropods, in 28 orders, are represented in these haiku. The eight most commonly referenced taxa, from highest to lowest number of references, include: Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Araneae, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata. Several common, conspicuous orders were never referenced, including Trichoptera, Plecoptera, and Megaloptera. The most commonly referenced traits relate to ecology (especially habitat, phenology, time of day), behavior (especially sound production), phenotype (especially color), and locomotion (especially flight). The least common traits in haiku relate to arthropod reproduction and physiology. Our analyses revealed few obvious temporal trends in the representations of taxa, biological traits, or emotion and tone. The broader implications of these results and possible future directions are discussed.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Arthropods; Insecta; Orthoptera; Coleoptera; Spiders
PubMed: 38568873
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298865 -
Communications Biology Apr 2024Cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) are insects of an ancient and wingless lineage within Orthoptera that are distributed worldwide except in Antarctica, and each subfamily...
Cave crickets (Rhaphidophoridae) are insects of an ancient and wingless lineage within Orthoptera that are distributed worldwide except in Antarctica, and each subfamily has a high level of endemicity. Here, we show the comprehensive phylogeny of cave crickets using multi-gene datasets from mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including all extant subfamilies for the first time. We reveal phylogenetic relationships between subfamilies, including the sister relationship between Anoplophilinae and Gammarotettiginae, based on which we suggest new synapomorphies. Through biogeographic analyses based on divergence time estimations and ancestral range reconstruction, we propose novel hypotheses regarding the biogeographic history of cave crickets. We suggest that Gammarotettiginae in California originated from the Asian lineage when Asia and the Americas were connected by the Bering land bridge, and the opening of the western interior seaway affected the division of Ceuthophilinae from Tropidischiinae in North America. We estimate that Rhaphidophoridae originated at 138 Mya throughout Pangea. We further hypothesize that the loss of wings in Rhaphidophoridae could be the result of their adaptation to low temperatures in the Mesozoic era.
Topics: Animals; Phylogeny; Orthoptera; Asia; North America; Antarctic Regions
PubMed: 38565627
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06068-x -
Journal of Insect Physiology May 2024In many katydids, the male feeds his mate with a large gelatinous spermatophore. While providing large spermatophores can increase female fecundity and lifespan, it may...
In many katydids, the male feeds his mate with a large gelatinous spermatophore. While providing large spermatophores can increase female fecundity and lifespan, it may also decrease their sexual receptivity, benefiting male fitness. Allocating resources to these edible gifts may entail a lower apportionment of them to other functions, generating a trade-off between somatic and reproductive functions. Despite their effect on male and female fitness, little is known of the compounds associated with katydid spermatophores. Our study found 177 different putative proteins in the spermatophore of Conocephalus ictus, with no correlation between male body size with spermatophore mass, number, concentration and mass of proteins. However, we did observe a negative relationship between male forewing length and protein concentration, and a negative relationship between the mass of the spermatophore transferred to the females and their body size, suggesting a resource allocation trade-off in males, but also strategic transference of resources based on female quality.
Topics: Female; Male; Animals; Orthoptera; Reproduction; Spermatogonia; Body Size; Longevity; Sexual Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 38554814
DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2024.104633 -
Journal of Insect Science (Online) Mar 2024Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different protein levels on the growth performance, feed efficiency and nutritional values, and phase feeding...
Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different protein levels on the growth performance, feed efficiency and nutritional values, and phase feeding of the 2-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus de Geer). In experiment 1, 4 crude protein (CP) diets were formulated to contain 18%, 20%, 22%, or 24% CP, respectively. A sample of 7-day-old 3,600 crickets was equally divided into 24 plastic boxes (150 crickets each) in a completely randomized design with 4 diets and 6 replications. In experiment 2, 2-phase feedings were used. For starting period (days 7-18), crickets in all treatments were fed a diet containing 22% CP. During the growing period (days 19-35), 3 groups of crickets were fed diets containing 18%, 20%, and 22% CP. In the overall period of experiment 1, the crickets fed with 22% CP diet had greater body weight compared to those fed with 18% CP diet. In addition, the crickets fed with 22% CP diet had the lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR). The broken-line model indicated the growth pattern changed on day 18. In experiment 2, the crickets fed with 20% CP diet from days 19 to 35 had greater growth performance and lower FCR than those fed with 18% CP, but not different from those fed with 22% CP. In conclusion, 22% CP can increase growth performance by improving the feed efficiency of crickets. The implementation of 2-phase feedings using 20% CP, during the growing period, could be considered as a cost-effective strategy for sustainable cricket production.
Topics: Animals; Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Dietary Proteins; Nutritive Value; Gryllidae
PubMed: 38554054
DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieae039 -
Biology Open Apr 2024Circadian rhythms are indispensable intrinsic programs that regulate the daily rhythmicity of physiological processes, such as feeding and sleep. The cricket has been...
Circadian rhythms are indispensable intrinsic programs that regulate the daily rhythmicity of physiological processes, such as feeding and sleep. The cricket has been employed as a model organism for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms in insects. However, previous studies measuring rhythm-controlled behaviours only analysed locomotive activity using seesaw-type and infrared sensor-based actometers. Meanwhile, advances in deep learning techniques have made it possible to analyse animal behaviour and posture using software that is devoid of human bias and does not require physical tagging of individual animals. Here, we present a system that can simultaneously quantify multiple behaviours in individual crickets - such as locomotor activity, feeding, and sleep-like states - in the long-term, using DeepLabCut, a supervised machine learning-based software for body keypoints labelling. Our system successfully labelled the six body parts of a single cricket with a high level of confidence and produced reliable data showing the diurnal rhythms of multiple behaviours. Our system also enabled the estimation of sleep-like states by focusing on posture, instead of immobility time, which is a conventional parameter. We anticipate that this system will provide an opportunity for simultaneous and automatic prediction of cricket behaviour and posture, facilitating the study of circadian rhythms.
Topics: Animals; Posture; Behavior, Animal; Circadian Rhythm; Gryllidae; Sleep; Software; Locomotion
PubMed: 38533608
DOI: 10.1242/bio.060237 -
ZooKeys 2024Classification of species is commonly based on morphological, molecular, and distribution depending on the taxa. Zheng, Wei & Jiang, 2005 and Tinkham, 1937 are both...
Classification of species is commonly based on morphological, molecular, and distribution depending on the taxa. Zheng, Wei & Jiang, 2005 and Tinkham, 1937 are both wingless types of Tetrigidae with extremely similar morphological characteristics, and in the current taxonomic system they are placed in two different subfamilies, Metrodorinae and Tetriginae, respectively. It is difficult to clearly identify the species of these two genera by morphological characteristics, and molecular data is often needed to assist identification. Here, the complete mitogenomes of two new species were sequenced and assembled, with that of . Molecular data of species of were used to test the monophyly of and to re-assess the generic characters, and also to test whether belongs to the Asian Metrodorinae or Tetriginae. Furthermore, mitochondrial characteristics were analyzed and the phylogeny of the Tetrigidae reconstructed based on mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs). The results indicated that the two new species were clustered with rather than , and the anterior margin of the fastigium and pronotum of the two new species usually had the humeral angle different from that of . Therefore, after integrating morphological and molecular data, the two new species were placed in the genus , and Finally, a phylogenetic reconstruction supported being assigned to Tetriginae rather than Metrodorinae, in contrast to the previous classification of this genus.
PubMed: 38525351
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1195.112623 -
Journal of Insect Science (Online) Mar 2024Pollutants in an environment can have long-term implications for the species living there, resulting in local adaptations with implications for their genetic structure....
Pollutants in an environment can have long-term implications for the species living there, resulting in local adaptations with implications for their genetic structure. Heavy metal pollutants infiltrate soils and groundwater, bioaccumulate in food webs, and negatively impact biota. In this study, we investigated the degree to which the genetic structure and variability of the slender green-winged grasshopper (Aiolopus thalassinus (Fabricius) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)) were impacted by heavy metal pollution and distance. We used the random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) method to examine the genetic variability of populations in 3 heavy metal-polluted and 3 unpolluted locations across varying geographical distances in Egypt. The heavy metal concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc were measured from the grasshopper tissue and soils. Sixty-nine unique and polymorphic bands were produced by 4 primers. Cluster and principal component analyses separated the populations inside and outside Cairo into 2 main branches, which were further divided into smaller branches corresponding to their geographical regions. We found no differences in the Shannon genetic diversity index between populations or with increasing heavy metal concentrations in either the soil or the grasshopper tissue. Our results showed a greater genetic variation among populations than between populations within the same location, indicating populations within locations were less differentiated than those between locations. The moderate correlation between genetic similarity and spatial distance suggests geographical isolation influenced grasshopper population differentiation. Based on the RAPD analysis, environmental pollutants and geographical distances impact the A. thalassinus population structure, potentially restricting gene flow between sites even at small spatial scales.
Topics: Animals; Grasshoppers; Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; Egypt; Metals, Heavy; Environmental Pollutants; Soil; Genetic Variation
PubMed: 38501856
DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieae026 -
ZooKeys 2024The genus Gorochov, 1987 includes 10 species from Asia, with nine documented in China. In this study, a new species, He, , is described from Xizang, China....
The genus Gorochov, 1987 includes 10 species from Asia, with nine documented in China. In this study, a new species, He, , is described from Xizang, China. Morphologically, it resembles (Chopard, 1932) but can be distinguished by a smaller inner tympanum, dark-brown setae on the 5 segment of the maxillary palp, and a rounded apex on the ectoparamere. To validate our morphological inferences and support the description of as a new species, we performed a PCA based on bioacoustics parameters and molecular analysis. All species documented in China are distinguished by integrating their songs and DNA barcoding.
PubMed: 38487668
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1193.117612 -
Mobile DNA Mar 2024Transposable elements (TEs) are a major component of eukaryotic genomes and are present in almost all eukaryotic organisms. TEs are highly dynamic between and within...
Transposable elements (TEs) are a major component of eukaryotic genomes and are present in almost all eukaryotic organisms. TEs are highly dynamic between and within species, which significantly affects the general applicability of the TE databases. Orthoptera is the only known group in the class Insecta with a significantly enlarged genome (0.93-21.48 Gb). When analyzing the large genome using the existing TE public database, the efficiency of TE annotation is not satisfactory. To address this limitation, it becomes imperative to continually update the available TE resource library and the need for an Orthoptera-specific library as more insect genomes are publicly available. Here, we used the complete genome data of 12 Orthoptera species to de novo annotate TEs, then manually re-annotate the unclassified TEs to construct a non-redundant Orthoptera-specific TE library: Orthoptera-TElib. Orthoptera-TElib contains 24,021 TE entries including the re-annotated results of 13,964 unknown TEs. The naming of TE entries in Orthoptera-TElib adopts the same naming as RepeatMasker and Dfam and is encoded as the three-level form of "level1/level2-level3". Orthoptera-TElib can be directly used as an input reference database and is compatible with mainstream repetitive sequence analysis software such as RepeatMasker and dnaPipeTE. When analyzing TEs of Orthoptera species, Orthoptera-TElib performs better TE annotation as compared to Dfam and Repbase regardless of using low-coverage sequencing or genome assembly data. The most improved TE annotation result is Angaracris rhodopa, which has increased from 7.89% of the genome to 53.28%. Finally, Orthoptera-TElib is stored in Sqlite3 for the convenience of data updates and user access.
PubMed: 38486291
DOI: 10.1186/s13100-024-00316-x