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Allergology International : Official... Jul 2021Airborne insect particles have been identified as an important cause of respiratory allergies, including allergic asthma and rhinitis. In the literature, the... (Review)
Review
Airborne insect particles have been identified as an important cause of respiratory allergies, including allergic asthma and rhinitis. In the literature, the significance of respiratory exposure to insect particles as a cause of occupational allergy has been well-documented. Indeed, many cases of occupational allergy have been reported including allergy to the larvae of flies and moths in anglers and occupationally exposed workers, to grain pests in bakers or other workers handling grains, and to crickets and/or locusts in researchers and workers in aquaculture companies. Furthermore, the prevalence of sensitization to insect allergens is considerably high among patients with asthma and/or rhinitis who are not occupationally exposed to insects, suggesting the clinical relevance of exposure to insects in indoor and outdoor environmental non-occupational settings. Exposure to cockroaches, a well-studied indoor insect, is associated with cockroach sensitization and the development and exacerbation of asthma. Booklice, another common indoor insect, were recently identified as a significant sensitizer of asthmatic patients in Japan and India, and potentially of asthma patients living in warm and humid climates around the world. Lip b 1 was identified as an allergenic protein contributing to the species-specific sensitization to booklice. Moths are considered a significant seasonal outdoor allergen and their allergens are considered to have the highest sensitization rate among Japanese patients. However, other than cockroaches, allergenic insect proteins contributing to sensitization have not been fully characterized to date.
Topics: Allergens; Animals; Asthma; Chironomidae; Cockroaches; Humans; Insect Proteins; Insecta; Moths; Occupational Diseases; Respiratory Hypersensitivity; Rhinitis, Allergic
PubMed: 33903033
DOI: 10.1016/j.alit.2021.04.001 -
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Mar 2021In-vitro effects of sub-lethal concentrations of malathion, phenanthrene (Phe) and cadmium (Cd) were tested on Chironomus sancticaroli larvae in acute bioassays by...
In-vitro effects of sub-lethal concentrations of malathion, phenanthrene (Phe) and cadmium (Cd) were tested on Chironomus sancticaroli larvae in acute bioassays by measuring biochemical and molecular parameters. Malathion was evaluated at 0.001, 0.0564 and 0.1006 mg L; Phe at 0.0025, 1.25 and 2.44 mg L; and Cd at 0.001, 3.2 and 7.4 mg L. The recovery test carried out at the highest concentration of each compound showed that survival of larvae exposed to Phe ranged from 4% to 5%, while the effects of malathion and Cd were irreversible, not allowing the emergence of adults. Results showed that malathion and Cd inhibited AChE, EST-α and ES-β activities at the two highest concentrations. Phe at 0.0025, 1.25 and 2.44 mg L; and Cd at 3.2 and 7.4 mg L inhibited glutathione S-transferase activity. Oxidative stress was exclusively induced by the lowest concentration of malathion considering SOD activity once CAT was unaffected by the stressors. Lipid peroxidation was registered exclusively by malathion at the two highest concentrations, and total hemoglobin content was only reduced by Cd at the two highest concentrations. The relationship among biochemical results, examined using the PCA, evidenced that malathion and Cd concentrations were clustered into two groups, while Phe only formed one group. Four hemoglobin genes of C. sancticaroli were tested for the first time in this species, with Hemoglobin-C being upregulated by malathion. The toxicity ranking was malathion > Phe > Cd, while biochemical and molecular results showed the order malathion > Cd > Phe. Our results highlight the importance of combining different markers to understand the effects of the diverse compounds in aquatic organisms.
Topics: Animals; Biological Assay; Cadmium; Chironomidae; Larva; Lipid Peroxidation; Malathion; Oxidative Stress; Phenanthrenes; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 33482495
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.111953 -
The European Physical Journal. E, Soft... Dec 2023Recently Cavagna et al. (Sci Rep 13(1): 8745, 2023) documented the swarming behaviors of laboratory-based Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Here key observations from this...
Recently Cavagna et al. (Sci Rep 13(1): 8745, 2023) documented the swarming behaviors of laboratory-based Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Here key observations from this 3D-video tracking study are reproduced by a minimally structured (maximum entropy) stochastic trajectory model. The modelling shows that in contrast with midge swarms which are a form of collective behavior, unperturbed mosquito swarms are more like collections of individuals that independently circulate around a fixed location. The modelling predicts the observed response Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes in wild swarms to varying wind speeds (Butail et al. in J Med Entomol 50(3): 552-559, 2013). It is shown that this response can be attributed to shear hardening. This is because mosquitoes are found to be attracted to the centre of the swarm by an effective force that increases with increasing flight speed. Mosquitoes can therefore better resist the influence of environmental disturbances by increasing their flight speeds. This contrasts with other emergent mechanical-like properties of swarming which arise accidentally without a change in an individual's behavior. The new results add to the growing realization that perturbations can drive swarms into more robust states.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Anopheles; Chironomidae; Gravitation
PubMed: 38063901
DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00379-3 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2022Moats and other historical water features had great importance for past societies. The functioning of these ecosystems can now only be retrieved through palaeoecological...
Moats and other historical water features had great importance for past societies. The functioning of these ecosystems can now only be retrieved through palaeoecological studies. Here we aimed to reconstruct the history of a stronghold's moat during its period of operation. Our spatio-temporal approach allowed mapping of the habitat changes within a medieval moat for the first time. Using data from four cores of organic deposits taken within the moat system, we describe ecological states of the moat based on subfossil Chironomidae and Ceratopogonidae assemblages. We found that over half (57%) of the identified dipteran taxa were indicative of one of the following ecological states: limnetic conditions with or without periodic water inflow, or marshy conditions. Samples representing conditions unfavourable for aquatic insects were grouped in a separate cluster. Analyses revealed that the spatio-temporal distribution of midge assemblages depended mostly on depth differences and freshwater supply from an artificial channel. Paludification and terrestrialization did not happen simultaneously across the moat system, being greatly influenced by human activity. The results presented here demonstrate the importance of a multi-aspect approach in environmental archaeology, focusing not only on the human environment, but also on the complex ecology of the past ecosystems.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Ecosystem; Wetlands; Fresh Water; Chironomidae; Water
PubMed: 36450784
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24762-w -
Scientific Reports Feb 2021Collective behaviour in flocks, crowds, and swarms occurs throughout the biological world. Animal groups are generally assumed to be evolutionarily adapted to robustly...
Collective behaviour in flocks, crowds, and swarms occurs throughout the biological world. Animal groups are generally assumed to be evolutionarily adapted to robustly achieve particular functions, so there is widespread interest in exploiting collective behaviour for bio-inspired engineering. However, this requires understanding the precise properties and function of groups, which remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that collective groups can be described in a thermodynamic framework. We define an appropriate set of state variables and extract an equation of state for laboratory midge swarms. We then drive swarms through "thermodynamic" cycles via external stimuli, and show that our equation of state holds throughout. Our findings demonstrate a new way of precisely quantifying the nature of collective groups and provide a cornerstone for potential future engineering design.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Biological Evolution; Chironomidae; Group Processes; Insecta; Mass Gatherings; Models, Biological; Models, Theoretical; Thermodynamics
PubMed: 33580191
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83303-z -
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination... May 2022Organism tolerance thresholds for emerging contaminants are vital to the development of water quality criteria. Acute (96-h) and chronic (10-day) effects thresholds for...
Organism tolerance thresholds for emerging contaminants are vital to the development of water quality criteria. Acute (96-h) and chronic (10-day) effects thresholds for neonicotinoid pesticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam, and the carbamate pesticide methomyl were developed for the midge Chironomus dilutus to support criteria development using the UC Davis Method. Median lethal concentrations (LC50s) were calculated for acute and chronic exposures, and the 25% inhibition concentrations (IC25) were calculated for the chronic exposures based on confirmed chemical concentrations. Clothianidin effect concentrations were 4.89 µg/L, 2.11 µg/L and 1.15 µg/L for 96-h LC50, 10-day LC50 and 10-day IC25, respectively. Similarly, thiamethoxam concentrations were 56.4 µg/L, 32.3 µg/L and 19.6 µg/L, and methomyl concentrations were 244 µg/L, 266 µg/L and 92.1 µg/L. Neonicotinoid effect concentrations compared favorably to previously published 96-h and 14-day LC50 concentrations, and methomyl effect concentrations were within the acute survival range reported for Chironomus species and other organisms.
Topics: Animals; Chironomidae; Guanidines; Insecticides; Methomyl; Neonicotinoids; Nitro Compounds; Thiamethoxam; Thiazoles; Water Pollutants, Chemical
PubMed: 34874464
DOI: 10.1007/s00128-021-03416-z -
Mitochondrial DNA. Part B, Resources 2022The complete mitochondrial genome of (Meigen 1818) was sequenced and annotated, and its general features and base composition were analyzed. The phylogenetic...
The complete mitochondrial genome of (Meigen 1818) was sequenced and annotated, and its general features and base composition were analyzed. The phylogenetic relationships of the families Chironomidae, Simuliidae, Sciaridae and Culicidae based on 25 metagenomes were reconstructed using maximum likelihood (ML) methods based on the concatenated nucleotide sequences, the phylogenetic analysis showed that belongs family Chironomidae, which is consistent with the traditional morphological classification.
PubMed: 35097216
DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2022.2029604 -
Anais Da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 2022Studies of the relationships between the temporal variation of biological phenomena and environmental factors are essential to understanding the dynamics of communities....
Studies of the relationships between the temporal variation of biological phenomena and environmental factors are essential to understanding the dynamics of communities. Phenology is a structuring element and, together with voltinism, is related to timing of reproductive activities. The aim of this study is to ascertain the structure and composition of the Chironomid assemblage and its emergence patterns in relation to the environmental variables through the use of the Chironomid pupal exuviae technique using the Neotropical streams as a model. The streams presented similar species compositions. The highest density of pupal exuviae was recorded during spring and the greatest richness in late summer and early autumn. Chironominae presented greater prevalence throughout the year with oscillations for Orthocladiinae and Tanypodinae. Chironominae and Tanypodinae presented emergence peaks in spring-summer and Orthocladiinae in autumn-winter. Rainfall, photoperiod and water and air temperatures structured the Chironomid assemblage, influencing emergence. Univoltine, bivoltine and multivoltine species were recorded. The species presented interspecific synchronization in emergence peaks at different times of the year.
Topics: Animals; Chironomidae; Pupa; Rivers; Seasons; Water
PubMed: 36228208
DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220200314 -
Insects Mar 2022Most large rivers in South Korea run through major cities, which often experience many environmental problems, including outbreaks of non-biting midges (Diptera:...
Most large rivers in South Korea run through major cities, which often experience many environmental problems, including outbreaks of non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae). However, chironomid species inhabiting large rivers have not been thoroughly investigated. We aimed to identify chironomid species collected from the four main large rivers in South Korea, construct a corresponding DNA barcode library, and examine the distribution and community structure of the identified riverine species. Adult chironomids were collected from nine sites along the rivers by using sweep nets and light traps during June and August 2015. Adults were morphologically identified, and COI nucleotide sequences were generated to verify the species identification and construct a DNA barcode library. The distribution and community structure of the identified species were also analyzed. A total of 124 COI sequences were established from 37 species belonging to 19 genera, and the resulting DNA barcode library effectively discriminated >90% of riverine Chironomidae in South Korea. Ten species, which are considered indicator species for large rivers, were collected from all four rivers. In addition, members of the subfamily Chironominae were collected more frequently than members of other subfamilies, with Tanytarsus tamagotoi being the most common and widespread chironomid species in South Korea. The DNA barcode library developed in this study will facilitate environmental studies of large rivers, such as biomonitoring chironomid larvae.
PubMed: 35447788
DOI: 10.3390/insects13040346 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jun 2001Salivary gland cells in the larvae of the dipteran Chironomus tentans offer unique possibilities to visualize the assembly and nucleocytoplasmic transport of a specific... (Review)
Review
Salivary gland cells in the larvae of the dipteran Chironomus tentans offer unique possibilities to visualize the assembly and nucleocytoplasmic transport of a specific transcription product. Each nucleus harbors four giant polytene chromosomes, whose transcription sites are expanded, or puffed. On chromosome IV, there are two puffs of exceptional size, Balbiani ring (BR) 1 and BR 2. A BR gene is 35-40 kb, contains four short introns, and encodes a 1-MDa salivary polypeptide. The BR transcript is packed with proteins into a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) fibril that is folded into a compact ring-like structure. The completed RNP particle is released into the nucleoplasm and transported to the nuclear pore, where the RNP fibril is gradually unfolded and passes through the pore. On the cytoplasmic side, the exiting extended RNP fibril becomes engaged in protein synthesis and the ensuing polysome is anchored to the endoplasmic reticulum. Several of the BR particle proteins have been characterized, and their fate during the assembly and transport of the BR particle has been elucidated. The proteins studied are all added cotranscriptionally to the pre-mRNA molecule. The various proteins behave differently during RNA transport, and the flow pattern of each protein is related to the particular function of the protein. Because the cotranscriptional assembly of the pre-mRNP particle involves proteins functioning in the nucleus as well as proteins functioning in the cytoplasm, it is concluded that the fate of the mRNA molecule is determined to a considerable extent already at the gene level.
Topics: Animals; Cell Nucleus; Chironomidae; Chromosome Mapping; Larva; Protein Transport; RNA-Binding Proteins; Ribonucleoproteins; Salivary Proteins and Peptides; Spliceosomes
PubMed: 11416180
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.111145498