-
Autophagy Apr 2013These days, when we talk about the origin of a protein, or even a pathway, we are typically referring to evolutionary lineages based on nucleotide sequences. For...
These days, when we talk about the origin of a protein, or even a pathway, we are typically referring to evolutionary lineages based on nucleotide sequences. For example, is a particular protein's function conserved? How far back did it first appear? Are there homologs in higher eukaryotes? However, a simpler question (or perhaps I should say, a non-molecular biology question) is when was the process first detected in the paleontological record? Of course I assumed that macroautophagy was ancient, but a new finding (see p. 632 in this issue of the journal) provides an unexpected--and exciting--piece of information for our field. For the first time, scientists have discovered fossil evidence for an actual subcellular pathway--and it looks like it might actually be autophagy (I admit I am biased, but you can decide for yourself).
Topics: Animals; Autophagy; Diptera
PubMed: 23388466
DOI: 10.4161/auto.23907 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Feb 2020We review epidemiological and clinical data on human myiasis from Ecuador, based on data from the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) and a review of the available...
We review epidemiological and clinical data on human myiasis from Ecuador, based on data from the Ministry of Public Health (MPH) and a review of the available literature for clinical cases. The larvae of four flies, Dermatobia hominis, Cochliomyia hominivorax, Sarcophaga haemorrhoidalis, and Lucilia eximia, were identified as the causative agents in 39 reported clinical cases. The obligate D. hominis, causing furuncular lesions, caused 17 (43.5%) cases distributed along the tropical Pacific coast and the Amazon regions. The facultative C. hominivorax was identified in 15 (38%) clinical cases, infesting wound and cavitary lesions including orbital, nasal, aural and vaginal, and occurred in both subtropical and Andean regions. C. hominivorax was also identified in a nosocomial hospital-acquired wound. Single infestations were reported for S. haemorrhoidalis and L. eximia. Of the 39 clinical cases, 8 (21%) occurred in tourists. Ivermectin, when it became available, was used to treat furuncular, wound, and cavitary lesions successfully. MPH data for 2013-2015 registered 2,187 cases of which 54% were reported in men; 46% occurred in the tropical Pacific coast, 30% in the temperate Andes, 24% in the tropical Amazon, and 0.2% in the Galapagos Islands. The highest annual incidence was reported in the Amazon (23 cases/100,000 population), followed by Coast (5.1/100,000) and Andes (4.7/100,000). Human myiasis is a neglected and understudied ectoparasitic infestation, being endemic in both temperate and tropical regions of Ecuador. Improved education and awareness among populations living in, visitors to, and health personnel working in high-risk regions, is required for improved epidemiological surveillance, prevention, and correct diagnosis and treatment.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Animals; Child; Child, Preschool; Diptera; Ecuador; Female; Humans; Infant; Male; Middle Aged; Myiasis; Travel; Young Adult
PubMed: 32084134
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007858 -
BMC Biology Oct 2021Blowflies are ubiquitous insects, often shiny and metallic, and the larvae of many species provide important ecosystem services (e.g., recycling carrion) and are used in...
BACKGROUND
Blowflies are ubiquitous insects, often shiny and metallic, and the larvae of many species provide important ecosystem services (e.g., recycling carrion) and are used in forensics and debridement therapy. Yet, the taxon has repeatedly been recovered to be para- or polyphyletic, and the lack of a well-corroborated phylogeny has prevented a robust classification.
RESULTS
We here resolve the relationships between the different blowfly subclades by including all recognized subfamilies in a phylogenomic analysis using 2221 single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes of Diptera. Maximum likelihood (ML), maximum parsimony (MP), and coalescent-based phylogeny reconstructions all support the same relationships for the full data set. Based on this backbone phylogeny, blowflies are redefined as the most inclusive monophylum within the superfamily Oestroidea not containing Mesembrinellidae, Mystacinobiidae, Oestridae, Polleniidae, Sarcophagidae, Tachinidae, and Ulurumyiidae. The constituent subfamilies are re-classified as Ameniinae (including the Helicoboscinae, syn. nov.), Bengaliinae, Calliphorinae (including Aphyssurinae, syn. nov., Melanomyinae, syn. nov., and Toxotarsinae, syn. nov.), Chrysomyinae, Luciliinae, Phumosiinae, Rhiniinae stat. rev., and Rhinophorinae stat. rev. Metallic coloration in the adult is shown to be widespread but does not emerge as the most likely ground plan feature.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study provides the first phylogeny of oestroid calyptrates including all blowfly subfamilies. This allows settling a long-lasting controversy in Diptera by redefining blowflies as a well-supported monophylum, and blowfly classification is adjusted accordingly. The archetypical blowfly trait of carrion-feeding maggots most likely evolved twice, and the metallic color may not belong to the blowfly ground plan.
Topics: Animals; Calliphoridae; Cell Nucleus; Diptera; Ecosystem; Phylogeny
PubMed: 34706743
DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01156-4 -
Journal of Insect Science (Online) May 2022The augmentorium is a cost-effective screened enclosure designed to receive fruits infested with insect pests, retain the pests inside but let their natural enemies...
Identifying an Optimal Screen Mesh to Enable Augmentorium-Based Enhanced Biological Control of the Olive Fruit Fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae).
The augmentorium is a cost-effective screened enclosure designed to receive fruits infested with insect pests, retain the pests inside but let their natural enemies escape to enhance biological control of pest populations. Screen selection is critical to ensure that an augmentorium is effective for a particular system. Here we tested five types of screens with a mini-augmentorium design and measured the escape of four insect species under laboratory conditions: the pests olive fruit fly Bactocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), and the parasitoids Psyttalia lounsburyi (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and Psyttalia ponerophaga (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). The sex ratio of insects that escaped the screens was compared to the sex ratio of insects that could not escape. Results showed that one screen type ('crystal mesh') was the best for the purpose of designing a functional augmentorium: it retained 90% of B. oleae adults and 100% of C. capitata adults while letting 72% of Psyttalia lounsburyi adults and 94% of P. ponerophaga adults escape. The other screen types tested were suboptimal, either because they let too many flies freely escape or because they retained too many parasitoids. Sex ratio was almost always similar for insects that managed to escape the screens and insects that were retained, except for P. ponerophaga and the screen type 'light mesh'. These results are promising for the development of a functional augmentorium against the olive fruit fly and further implementation against Mediterranean fruit fly.
Topics: Animals; Ceratitis capitata; Drosophila; Hymenoptera; Olea; Pest Control, Biological; Tephritidae
PubMed: 35640027
DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieac027 -
Insect Biochemistry and Molecular... Nov 2010Within the Diptera and outside the suborder Brachycera, the blood-feeding habit occurred at least twice, producing the present day sand flies, and the Culicomorpha,... (Review)
Review
Within the Diptera and outside the suborder Brachycera, the blood-feeding habit occurred at least twice, producing the present day sand flies, and the Culicomorpha, including the mosquitoes (Culicidae), black flies (Simulidae), biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) and frog feeding flies (Corethrellidae). Alternatives to this scenario are also discussed. Successful blood-feeding requires adaptations to antagonize the vertebrate's mechanisms of blood clotting, platelet aggregation, vasoconstriction, pain and itching, which are triggered by tissue destruction and immune reactions to insect products. Saliva of these insects provides a complex pharmacological armamentarium to block these vertebrate reactions. With the advent of transcriptomics, the sialomes (from the Greek word sialo = saliva) of at least two species of each of these families have been studied (except for the frog feeders), allowing an insight into the diverse pathways leading to today's salivary composition within the Culicomorpha, having the sand flies as an outgroup. This review catalogs 1288 salivary proteins in 10 generic classes comprising over 150 different protein families, most of which we have no functional knowledge. These proteins and many sequence comparisons are displayed in a hyperlinked spreadsheet that hopefully will stimulate and facilitate the task of functional characterization of these proteins, and their possible use as novel pharmacological agents and epidemiological markers of insect vector exposure.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Diptera; Feeding Behavior; Insect Proteins; Saliva; Species Specificity
PubMed: 20728537
DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2010.08.002 -
Journal of Clinical Microbiology Dec 2016
Topics: Animals; Child, Preschool; Diptera; Entamoeba; Entamoebiasis; Entomology; Female; Humans; Larva; Male; Vomiting
PubMed: 27881638
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.03116-14 -
Parasites & Vectors Sep 2021Tabanus bromius (Diptera: Tabanidae) is one of the most notable Tabanidae species of veterinary and medical importance distributed throughout the Palearctic region. In...
BACKGROUND
Tabanus bromius (Diptera: Tabanidae) is one of the most notable Tabanidae species of veterinary and medical importance distributed throughout the Palearctic region. In this study, we investigate the genetic diversity and the phylogeographic structure of T. bromius sampled from Turkey, Croatia, and Iran.
METHODS
For this purpose, a 686-base-pair (bp) fragment of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) and 1339 bp of the nuclear DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were sequenced from 247 individuals representing 15 populations.
RESULTS
The sequences generated 169 COI haplotypes and 90 ITS alleles. A higher haplotype/allele diversity (h = 0.9909 for the COI gene and Ad = 0.8193 for the ITS region) compared to a low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.020605 for COI gene and π = 0.013667 for the ITS region), present for a high number of singleton and private haplotypes/alleles imply population expansion in the past. The results of phylogenetic analysis led to the uncovering of geographically significant groupings of lineages with regard to the entrance of the species into Anatolia and the location of major geographic barriers. According to current data, the species appears to have entered Turkey from Caucasia and Iran. A molecular clock applied to the COI data suggests that T. bromius diverged from the outgroup species nearly 8.83 million years ago, around the end of the Miocene era.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study indicate remarkable genetic diversity across the studied range of the species. High haplotype/allele versus low nucleotide diversity and demographic analyses implied that the T. bromius populations have undergone a series of expansions and retreats in the past. Our current findings suggest that T. bromius split from outgroups around the Late Miocene. Subsequent diversification events during the climatic and environmental fluctuation times of the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene periods also significantly influenced the species, resulting in the formation of some major genetic lineages. The phylogenetic analyses indicate that T. bromius most likely entered Turkey from the Caucasus region and Iran.
Topics: Animals; DNA, Mitochondrial; Diptera; Female; Genes, Mitochondrial; Genetic Variation; Genetics, Population; Phylogeny; Phylogeography; Sequence Analysis, DNA
PubMed: 34488854
DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04970-5 -
PloS One 2023Phylogenetic relationships within the oestroid subclades Rhinophorinae (Calliphoridae) and Polleniidae were reconstructed for the first time, applying a Sanger...
Phylogenetic relationships within the oestroid subclades Rhinophorinae (Calliphoridae) and Polleniidae were reconstructed for the first time, applying a Sanger sequencing approach using the two protein-coding nuclear markers CAD (carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2, aspartate transcarbamylase, and dihydroorotase; 1794 bp) and MCS (molybdenum cofactor sulfurase; 2078 bp). Three genera of Polleniidae and nineteen genera of Rhinophorinae were analyzed together with a selection of taxa representing the major lineages of Oestroidea (non-rhinophorine Calliphoridae, Oestridae, Sarcophagidae, Tachinidae). The selected markers provide good resolution and moderate to strong support of the distal branches, but weak support for several deeper nodes. Polleniidae (cluster flies) emerge as monophyletic and their sister-group relationship to Tachinidae is confirmed. Morinia Robineau-Desvoidy as currently circumscribed emerges as paraphyletic with regard to Melanodexia Williston, and Pollenia Robineau-Desvoidy is the sister taxon of the Morinia-Melanodexia clade. We propose a classification with two subfamilies, Moriniinae Townsend (including Morinia, Melanodexia, and Alvamaja Rognes), and Polleniinae Brauer & Bergenstamm (including Pollenia, Dexopollenia Townsend, and Xanthotryxus Aldrich). Anthracomyza Malloch and Nesodexia Villeneuve are considered as Oestroidea incertae sedis pending further study. Rhinophorinae (woodlouse flies) emerge as monophyletic and sister to a clade composed of (Ameniinae + (Ameniinae + Phumosiinae)), and a tribal classification is proposed with the subfamily divided into Rhinophorini Robineau-Desvoidy, 1863 and Phytonini Robineau-Desvoidy, 1863 (the Stevenia-group and the Phyto-group of authors, respectively). Oxytachina Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891, stat. rev. is resurrected to contain nine Afrotropical rhinophorine species currently assigned to genus Rhinomorinia Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891: Oxytachina approximata (Crosskey, 1977) comb. nov., O. atra (Bischof, 1904) comb. nov., O. bisetosa (Crosskey, 1977) comb. nov., O. capensis (Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1893) comb. nov., O. scutellata (Crosskey, 1977) comb. nov., O. setitibia (Crosskey, 1977) comb. nov., O. verticalis (Crosskey, 1977) comb. nov., O. vittata Brauer & Bergenstamm, 1891, and O. xanthocephala (Bezzi, 1908) comb. nov.
Topics: Animals; Diptera; Calliphoridae; Phylogeny; Aspartate Carbamoyltransferase; Brassicaceae; Xylariales
PubMed: 37725599
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285855 -
Journal of Insect Science (Online) May 2019Farming insects has recently emerged as a new source of protein and lipid production. To date, research has mostly focused on food applications of insects. Focusing on...
Farming insects has recently emerged as a new source of protein and lipid production. To date, research has mostly focused on food applications of insects. Focusing on nonfood potential of oil and proteins of insects, high-throughput studies of insect lipids and proteins are needed. We performed proteomics and lipidomics investigation on black soldier fly (Hermitia illucens) and blow fly (Lucilia sericata) larvae to investigate new potential and applications. We used mass spectrometry for proteomics and lipidomics analysis of control and treated larvae. Treatment was performed by incubation with a biological decomposer. We provide the list of all fatty acids with their concentration in control and treated larvae. This result showed high levels of lauric acid in black soldier fly, which could even increase after biological decomposition. Proteomics analysis showed the presence of proteins like collagen of cosmetic interest, and proteins with antimicrobial properties such as phenoloxidases and enzymatic activities, such as amylase and trypsin. Insects harbor high potential for nonfood usage as additives, antimicrobial effects, and even pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. These data open avenues for future research in pharmacological and cosmetic approaches to find new molecules of interests.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents; Diptera; Insect Proteins; Larva; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Proteome; Proteomics
PubMed: 31237955
DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iez050 -
Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease 2018'Filth flies' feed and develop in excrement and decaying matter and can transmit enteric pathogens to humans and animals, leading to colonization and infection.... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
'Filth flies' feed and develop in excrement and decaying matter and can transmit enteric pathogens to humans and animals, leading to colonization and infection. Considering these characteristics, 'filth flies' are potential vectors for the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This review defines the role of flies in the spread of AMR and identifies knowledge gaps.
METHODS
The literature search (original articles, reviews indexed for PubMed) was restricted to the English language. References of identified studies were screened for additional sources.
RESULTS
'Filth flies' are colonized with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria of clinical relevance. This includes extended spectrum beta-lactamase-, carbapenemase-producing and colistin-resistant (mcr-1 positive) bacteria. Resistant bacteria in flies often share the same genotypes with bacteria from humans and animals when their habitat overlap. The risk of transmission is most likely highest for enteric bacteria as they are shed in high concentration in excrements and are easily picked up by flies. 'Filth flies' can 'bio-enhance' the transmission of AMR as bacteria multiply in the digestive tract, mouthparts and regurgitation spots.
CONCLUSION
To better understand the medical importance of AMR in flies, quantitative risk assessment models should be refined and fed with additional data (e.g. vectorial capacity, colonization dose). This requires targeted ecological, epidemiological and in vivo experimental studies.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Communicable Disease Control; Communicable Diseases; Diptera; Disease Vectors; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Epidemiological Monitoring; Humans; Insect Vectors
PubMed: 29482014
DOI: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2018.02.007