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C. Capitata (c + capitata)
Selected AbstractsCan host-range allow niche differentiation of invasive polyphagous fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in La Réunion?ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 4 2008PIERRE-FRANCOIS DUYCK Abstract 1.,Biological invasions bring together formerly isolated insect taxa and allow the study of ecological interactions between species with no coevolutionary history. Among polyphagous insects, such species may competitively exclude each other unless some form of niche partitioning allows them to coexist. 2.,In the present study, we investigate whether the ability to exploit different fruits can increase the likelihood of coexistence of four species of polyphagous Tephritidae, one endemic and three successive invaders, in the island of La Réunion. In the laboratory, we studied the performances of all four species on the four most abundant fruit resources in the island, as well as the relative abundances of fly species on these four fruit species in the field. We observe no indication of niche partitioning for any of the four abundant fruits. 3.,Analyses of an extensive field data series suggest that: (i) the four fly species largely overlap in fruit exploitation, once climatic effects are accounted for; (ii) however, one species (Ceratitis capitata) can exploit rare fruit species that are not exploited by others present in the same climatic niche; and (iii) the endemic species C. catoirii, now nearly extinct in La Réunion, has no private niche with respect to either climatic range or fruit use. 4.,On the whole, with the possible exception of C. capitata, the results point to a limited role of fruit diversity in encouraging coexistence among polyphagous tephritids recently brought into contact by accidental introductions. [source] Whole body extract of Mediterranean fruit fly males elicits high attraction in virgin femalesENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA, Issue 1 2008Vassilis G. Mavraganis Abstract The search for effective female attractants emanating from the host or body of fruit flies has been an area of intensive research for over three decades. In the present study, bodies of male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), were extracted with diethyl ether or methanol and subjected to gas chromatography,mass spectrometry. Analysis revealed substantial qualitative and quantitative differences between males from a laboratory culture and wild males captured alive in an orchard. Most notably, the hydrocarbon sesquiterpene (±)-,-copaene, which is known to be involved in the sexual behaviour of the species, was found in substantial amounts in wild males, but was not detected in laboratory males. In laboratory tests, 15 laboratory or wild male equivalents of diethyl ether extracts or combined diethyl ether and methanol extracts, or, to a lesser extent, methanol extracts alone, were found to attract virgin females. In a citrus orchard, traps baited with combined diethyl ether and methanol extracts of wild males attracted significantly more virgin females than traps baited with various doses of pyranone or blends of other compounds identified in the extracts or reported in the literature, such as ethyl acetate, ethyl-(E)-3-octenoate, and 1-pyrroline. Traps baited with blends of compounds, however, displayed substantial attractiveness compared to control (non-baited) traps. These results are important for better understanding the mating system of C. capitata as well as for further improving existing monitoring and control systems. [source] Genomic structure and expression analysis of the RNase , family ortholog gene in the insect Ceratitis capitataFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 24 2008Theodoros N. Rampias Cc RNase is the founding member of the recently identified RNase , family, which is represented by a single ortholog in a wide range of animal taxonomic groups. Although the precise biological role of this protein is still unknown, it has been shown that the recombinant proteins isolated so far from the insect Ceratitis capitata and from human exhibit ribonucleolytic activity. In this work, we report the genomic organization and molecular evolution of the RNase , gene from various animal species, as well as expression analysis of the ortholog gene in C. capitata. The high degree of amino acid sequence similarity, in combination with the fact that exon sizes and intronic positions are extremely conserved among RNase , orthologs in 15 diverse genomes from sea anemone to human, imply a very significant biological function for this enzyme. In C. capitata, two forms of RNase , mRNA (0.9 and 1.5 kb) with various lengths of 3, UTR were identified as alternative products of a single gene, resulting from the use of different polyadenylation signals. Both transcripts are expressed in all insect tissues and developmental stages. Sequence analysis of the extended region of the longer transcript revealed the existence of three mRNA instability motifs (AUUUA) and five poly(U) tracts, whose functional importance in RNase , mRNA decay remains to be explored. [source] Climatic niche partitioning following successive invasions by fruit flies in La RéunionJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2006PIERRE-FRANÇOIS DUYCK Summary 1Biological invasions have profound effects on community structure. The community composition following invasions can be influenced by the habitat diversity and the species' responses to abiotic factors. 2We evaluated the tolerance to climatic factors and analysed the field distribution of four polyphagous fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of La Réunion Island (three exotic species that successively invaded the island and the endemic species Ceratitis catoirii) in order to evaluate the opportunities of coexistence by niche differentiation. 3Atmospheric humidity and immersion in water in the laboratory greatly influence the survival of fruit fly pupae. While C. catoirii and C. rosa are very sensitive to desiccation, C. capitata and especially Bactrocera zonata are relatively tolerant. B. zonata also tolerated immersion in water much longer than did C. rosa and C. catoirii, that in turn were more resistant than C. capitata. Overall, field distributions agree with the predictions based on this study of humidity combined with previous data on the effects of temperature. 4Climatic niche partitioning promotes coexistence between some but not all pairs of invasive species. Thus, C. rosa can coexist with both C. capitata and B. zonata at the regional scale, while climatic niches are not different enough to promote coexistence of the latter two species. The endemic species has no private climatic niche either and this now very rare species could be in the process of extinction. 5By promoting coexistence or not, climatic diversity in invaded areas can directly affect the community composition following invasions. [source] Fruit fly liquid larval diet technology transfer and updateJOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 3 2009C. L. Chang Abstract Since October 2006, the US Department of Agriculture,Agricultural Research Service (USDA,ARS) has been implementing a fruit fly liquid larval diet technology transfer, which has proceeded according to the following steps: (1) recruitment of interested groups through request; (2) establishment of the Material Transfer Agreement with agricultural research service; (3) fruit fly liquid larval diet starter kit sent to the requestor for preliminary evaluation; (4) problem-solving through email or onsite demonstration; (5) assessment on feedback from the participants to decide whether to continue the project. Up to date, the project has involved 35 participants from 29 countries and 26 species of fruit flies. Fourteen participants have concluded their evaluation of the process, and 11 of these 14, have deemed it to be successful. One participant has decided to implement the project on a larger scale. The 14 participants were, Argentina (Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha fraterculus), Bangladesh (Bactrocera cucurbitae, C. capitata, and Bactrocera dorsalis), China (Fujia province) (B. dorsalis), Italy (C. capitata), Fiji (Bactrocera passiflorae), Kenya (Bactrocera invadens, Ceratitis cosyra), Mauritius (Bactrocera zonata and B. cucurbitae), Mexico (Anastrepha species), Philippines (Bactrocera philippinese), Thailand (Bactrocera correcta), Austria (C. capitata, Vienna 8 and A. fraterculus), Israel (Dacus ciliatus and C. capitata), South Africa (C. capitata, Vienna 8) and Australia (C. capitata). The Stellenbosch medfly mass-rearing facility in South Africa and the CDFA in Hawaii were two mass-scale rearing facilities that allowed us to demonstrate onsite rearing in a larger scale. Demonstrations were performed in CDFA in 2007, and in Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2008; both were found to be successful. The Stellenbosch medfly mass-rearing facility in South Africa decided to adopt the technology and is currently evaluating the quality control of the flies that were reared as larvae on a liquid diet. [source] Bacteria,diet interactions affect longevity in the medfly ,Ceratitis capitataJOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 9-10 2008M. Ben-Yosef Abstract Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann, Dipt.: Tephritidae) harbour a diverse community of bacteria in their digestive system. This microbiota may have important functions impacting on the fly's fitness. Recently, we described the effect of eliminating intestinal bacteria on the reproductive success of C. capitata males and females. Here, we expand the view on the nature of fly,bacteria interactions by examining the effect of bacteria on male and female longevity. Antibiotics were used to suppress the gut bacterial community and mortality rates were compared between antibiotic-treated and non-treated flies when either nutritionally stressed (maintained on sugar) or provided with a full diet. These tests revealed that eliminating the gut bacterial population prolonged longevity, but only when flies were nutritionally stressed, indicating that the effect of bacteria on lifespan was diet dependent. Considering these results in light of other known effects of bacteria on fitness components of the fly demonstrates a cost-benefit relationship between C. capitata and its gut microbiota. [source] The fruit fly PUB: a phagostimulation unit bioassay system to quantitatively measure ingestion of baits by individual fliesJOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 9-10 2004D. Nestel Abstract:, A bioassay to investigate quantitative phagostimulation and ingestion physiology of baits on individual fruit flies is presented. The study was undertaken using two fruit fly species: the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata), a cosmopolitan insect pest, and the Ethiopian fruit fly (Dacus ciliatus), a quarantine insect in Israel. Our model bait suspension included spinosad as the toxic agent, and 1% yeast hydrolysate with 10% sucrose as phagostimulant. A preliminary toxicology study showed that the two fruit flies are highly sensitive to low concentrations of spinosad baited with this phagostimulant. The maximum concentration needed to kill 90% of the female flies was 4.2 and 8.5 p.p.m. for C. capitata and D. ciliatus, respectively. The bioassay was able to detect the ingestion of low volumes (e.g. 1 ,l) of tested solutions. The bioassay was also able to detect differences in intake of different concentrations of spinosad solutions and relate ingestion to fruit fly mortality. Additionally, the bioassay was sensitive enough to highlight differences in intake related to the physiological status of the fruit fly and fly species. The bioassay can also be used to follow ingestion kinetics of baits. We expect that this bioassay will contribute in the exploration of more efficient bait systems for fruit flies. [source] Interference between male-targeted and female-targeted lures of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Dipt., Tephritidae) in ItalyJOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2004M. Tóth Abstract: The efficacy of male-targeted and female-targeted baits was compared when lures were presented together or singly in traps for capturing the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). For male-targeted baits, either trimedlure or ceralure presented singly attracted large numbers of flies, supporting data from many previous reports. The present results are the first published data on the attractiveness of ceralure to a European population of C. capitata. The quaternary female bait consisting of ammonium carbonate, putrescine, trimethylamine and acetic acid was a potent attractant for female flies (and also showed some activity for males). Replacing acetic acid with ammonium acetate in the quaternary female bait did not influence activity. Traps with female-targeted and male-targeted baits together always showed a tendency of catching fewer flies than traps with only one type of bait. The decrease was significant in females, regardless of whether ceralure or trimedlure was the male-targeted bait. In males, the tendency was the same for traps with trimedlure or ceralure alone, catching higher numbers than those with both male and female baits. Our present results suggest that both types of baits mutually decrease the numbers of the non-target sex in the trap. In conclusion, it is advisable to use both male- and female-targeted baits in separate and distant traps and not jointly in the same trap, lest the efficacy of detection or monitoring trials be compromised. [source] The isolation of microsatellite loci in the Mediterranean fruitfly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) using a biotin/streptavidin enrichment techniqueMOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, Issue 3 2001D. G. Casey Abstract The Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) is a polyphagous dipteran pest which has spread from North Africa to the countries of the Mediterranean Basin and has also invaded tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. Colonizing populations typically possess low levels of genetic variability. Microsatellites provide an effective means of investigating the population structure of such genetically depauperate populations, however, microsatellite markers traditionally require a long phase of development in new taxa. We used a biotin/streptavidin capture technique to isolate microsatellites directly from C. capitata genomic DNA and we describe here the identification of seven polymorphic microsatellite markers in C. capitata. [source] | ||||||||||