Seeing in the Future - a Perspective on Combining Light with Chemical Biology Approaches to Treat Retinal Pathologies.

New concepts to treat eye diseases have emerged that elegantly combine unnatural light exposure with chemical biology approaches to achieve superior cellular specificity and, as a result, improvement of visual function. Historically, light exposure without further molecular eye treatment has offered limited success including photocoagulation to halt pathological blood vessel growth or low light exposure to stimulate retinal cell viability. To add cellular specificity to such treatments, researchers have introduced various biological or chemical light-sensing molecules and combined those with light exposure.

Optogenetic Manipulation of Transgene Expression in Retinal Neurovasculature.

The retina is prone to developing pathological neovascularization, a leading cause of blindness in humans. Because excess neovascularization does not affect the entire retina, global inhibition treatment of angiogenesis critically interferes with healthy, unaffected retinal tissue. We therefore established an photoactivated gene expression paradigm which would allow light-mediated targeting of antiangiogenic genetic treatment only to affected retinal regions.

Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion-Based Photolysis: Applications in Photopharmacology.

The emerging field of photopharmacology is a promising chemobiological methodology for optical control of drug activities that could ultimately solve the off-target toxicity outside the disease location of many drugs for the treatment of a given pathology. The use of photolytic reactions looks very attractive for a light-activated drug release but requires to develop photolytic reactions sensitive to red or near-infrared light excitation for better tissue penetration. This review will present the concepts of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion-based photolysis and their recent in vivo applications for light-induced drug delivery using photoactivatable nanoparticles.

Towards a Light-mediated Gene Therapy for the Eye using Caged Ethinylestradiol and the Inducible Cre/lox System.

Increasingly, retinal pathologies are being treated with virus-mediated gene therapies. To be able to target viral transgene expression specifically to the pathological regions of the retina with light, we established an in vivo photoactivated gene expression paradigm for retinal tissue. Based on the inducible Cre/lox system, we discovered that ethinylestradiol is a suitable alternative to Tamoxifen as ethinylestradiol is more amenable to modification with photosensitive protecting compounds, i.

Photoactivatable Liposomes for Blue to Deep Red Light-Activated Surface Drug Release: Application to Controlled Delivery of the Antitumoral Drug Melphalan.

Liposome-based nanoparticles able to release, via a photolytic reaction, a payload anchored at the surface of the phospholipid bilayer were prepared. The liposome formulation strategy uses an original drug-conjugated blue light-sensitive photoactivatable coumarinyl linker. This is based on an efficient blue light-sensitive photolabile protecting group modified by a lipid anchor, which enables its incorporation into liposomes, leading to blue to green light-sensitive nanoparticles.

Natural history and morphology of immature stages of Tolype medialis (Jones, 1912) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae: Macromphaliinae).

Lasiocampidae belongs to superfamily Lasiocampoidea and contains more than a thousand species nearly distributed worldwide. Despite the great species richness and wide distribution, this group has internal phylogenetic relationships still little explored and with few studies on the morphology and biology of its immatures. This study describes the immature stages of the neotropical species Tolype medialis (Jones, 1912), focusing on the morphology and natural history.

Synthesis and Photochemical Properties of Fluorescent Metabolites Generated from Fluorinated Benzoylmenadiones in Living Cells.

This work describes the reactivity and properties of fluorinated derivatives ( and ) of plasmodione () and its metabolite, the plasmodione oxide (). Introduction of a fluorine atom on the 2-methyl group markedly alters the redox properties of the 1,4-naphthoquinone electrophore, making the compound highly oxidizing and particularly photoreactive. A fruitful set of analytical methods (electrochemistry, absorption and emission spectrophotometry, and HRMS-ESI) have been used to highlight the products resulting from UV photoirradiation in the absence or presence of selected nucleophiles.

Wavelength-Dependent, Orthogonal Photoregulation of DNA Liberation for Logic Operations.

In this study, we synthesized two phosphoramidites based on 2,7-bis-{4-nitro-8-[3-(2-propyl)-styryl]}-9,9-bis-[1-(3,6-dioxaheptyl)]-fluorene (BNSF) and 4,4'-bis-{8-[4-nitro-3-(2-propyl)-styryl]}-3,3'-di-methoxybiphenyl (BNSMB) structures as visible light-cleavable linkers for oligonucleotide conjugation. In addition to the commercial ultraviolet (UV) photocleavable (PC) linker, the BNSMB linker was further applied as a building component to construct photoregulated DNA devices as duplex structures, which are functionalized with fluorophores and quenchers. Selective cleavage of PC and BNSMB is achieved in response to ultraviolet (UV) and visible light irradiations as two inputs, respectively.

Red Light-Responsive Upconverting Nanoparticles for Quantitative and Controlled Release of a Coumarin-Based Prodrug.

Photolytic reactions allow the optical control of the liberation of biological effectors by photolabile protecting groups. The development of versatile technologies enabling the use of deep-red or NIR light excitation still represents a challenging issue, in particular for light-induced drug release (e.g.

Description of Porphyrosela arachisella sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), the first report of Lithocolletinae for Brazil.

During a recent survey of leaf-mining microlepidoptera in the Cerrado biome, mines of an undescribed Porphyrosela Braun (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae: Lithocolletinae) were found associated with the forage peanut, Arachis pintoi Krapov. W.C.

Global Potential Distribution of the South American Cutworm Pest Agrotis robusta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

Invasive pest species can represent significant losses to the agricultural economy of a country. Assessing the potential distribution of known pest species could be an important tool to evaluate possible invasive threats globally. Agrotis robusta (Blanchard) is an endemic species of temperate areas of South America considered an important pest of seedlings of sunflower, dry bean, and potatoes.

Helicoverpa armigera and Helicoverpa zea hybridization: constraints, heterosis, and implications for pest management.

Background: The invasion of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) into the New World has made it possible for this pest to hybridize with a native American species, H. zea (Boddie), under natural conditions. We investigated the viability and development of hybrids of these two Helicoverpa species.

Two-Photon Sensitive Coumarinyl Photoremovable Protecting Groups with Rigid Electron-Rich Cycles Obtained by Domino Reactions Initiated by a 5--Dig Cyclocarbopalladation.

We herein report the design, synthesis, and photophysical characterization of extended and rigid coumarinyl derivatives showing large two-photon sensitivities ( ≤ 125 GM) at 740 and 800 nm. To efficiently synthesize these complex photoremovable protecting groups (PPGs), we used step-economic domino reactions. Moreover, those new coumarinyl PPGs display unique bathochromic shifts (≤100 nm) of the uncaging subproducts as a result of the formation of a more conjugated fulvene moiety.

Helicoverpa armigera Harm 1 Haplotype Predominates in the Heliothinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Complex Infesting Tomato Crops in Brazil.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a natural host for the Helicoverpa-Chloridea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae) pest complex. The species Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) was responsible for significant yield losses in several crops after its detection in Brazil.

Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil: the Big Outbreak Monitored by Light Traps.

The first detection of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil pointed to a gloomy future for South American agriculture in the 2012/2013 harvest, and insecticide sales increased exponentially during 2013 and 2014. However, after this outbreak, the population of this insect returned to manageable levels. This study documents data on H.

The Granulate Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): Biological Parameters Under Controlled Conditions, Host Plants, and Distribution in the Americas.

Feltia subterranea (Fabricius), commonly known as the granulate cutworm, is a common species of owlet moths (Noctuidae) of major agricultural importance, widely distributed in Nearctic and Neotropical regions. This study was conducted to determine the species biological parameters, gather information about its larval host plants, and assess the agricultural significance of this species in the Americas. The viability of the egg, larval, pupal stages, and prepupal period was 98, 98, and 100%, respectively, under laboratory conditions.

Taxonomy of five neglected South American species of Dargida Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

The taxonomy of five South American species of Dargida Walker currently allocated in Leucania Ochsenheimer (four species) and in Lasionycta Aurivillius (one species) is revised. Leucania roseilinea (Köhler, 1947), Leucania phaeoneura Hampson, 1913, Leucania mocoides Dognin, 1897, Leucania alboradiata (Hampson, 1905) and Lasionycta radiata (Köhler, 1966), are here combined with the genus Dargida Walker for the first time (comb. nov.

Role of nutritional composition in the development and survival of (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on artificial diet and natural hosts.

Helicoverpa armigera is a pest of several crops causing significant economic impact. We evaluated the insect development on different vegetative and reproductive structures of cotton, maize, and soybean compared to artificial diet. One hundred individuals were evaluated per structure (cotton leaves and bolls; maize leaves, grains, and silk; soybean leaves and pods) and artificial diet.

Development and characterization of layer-by-layer coated liposomes with poly(L-lysine) and poly(L-glutamic acid) to increase their resistance in biological media.

Multilayered coated liposomes were prepared using the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique in an effort to improve their stability in biological media. The formulation strategy was based on the alternate deposition of two biocompatible and biodegradable polyelectrolytes - poly(L-lysine) (PLL) and poly(L-glutamic acid) (PGA) - on negatively charged small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs). Some parameters of the formulation process were optimized such as the polyelectrolyte concentration and the purification procedure.

Adaptive Introgression across Semipermeable Species Boundaries between Local Helicoverpa zea and Invasive Helicoverpa armigera Moths.

Hybridization between invasive and native species has raised global concern, given the dramatic increase in species range shifts and pest outbreaks due to anthropogenic dispersal. Nevertheless, secondary contact between sister lineages of local and invasive species provides a natural laboratory to understand the factors that determine introgression and the maintenance or loss of species barriers. Here, we characterize the early evolutionary outcomes following secondary contact between invasive Helicoverpa armigera and native H.

Taxonomy of the rivorum species-group of Leucania Ochsenheimer, 1816 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

The rivorum species-group of the genus Leucania (Noctuidae: Noctuinae: Leucaniini) is circumscribed and taxonomically revised, with the inclusion of three species. New taxonomic hypotheses were achieved through the morphological analysis of about 250 specimens allied to the type material of L. rivorum Guenée, 1852; L.

Assessing insect biodiversity with automatic light traps in Brazil: Pearls and pitfalls of metabarcoding samples in preservative ethanol.

Automated species identification based on data produced with metabarcoding offers an alternative for assessing biodiversity of bulk insect samples obtained with traps. We used a standard two-step PCR approach to amplify a 313 bp fragment of the barcoding region of the mitochondrial COI gene. The PCR products were sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq platform, and the OTUs production and taxonomic identifications were performed with a customized pipeline and database.

First records of Leucania rawlinsi Adams and L. senescens Möschler (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil: redescription, potential association with Bt maize, larval parasitoids, and spatial and temporal distribution.

Every year the area of transgenic maize planting in Brazil expands, however, our knowledge of the fauna of herbivorous insects associated with this genetically modified crop is restricted. In this work we report for the first time the occurrence of Leucania rawlinsi Adams, 2001 and L. senescens (Möschler, 1890) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil with larvae feeding on Bt and non-Bt maize silk, as well as their braconid and tachinid larval parasitoids.

Survival and Development of (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Immature Stages on Dry Beans, non-, Cry1F, and Vip3A Maize.

is a crop pest that causes economic damage in the United States and Canada. Only maize and dry beans are shown to be suitable hosts, since larval development is incomplete on other hosts. The objective of this study was to describe the developmental parameters of immature stages of feeding on dry beans, non-, Cry1F, and Vip3A maize.

Life-History Parameters of Striacosta albicosta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Under Laboratory Conditions.

Striacosta albicosta (Smith) is a key pest of maize and dry beans in North America. It has expanded its distribution from the western Great Plains of the United States to the Great Lakes region in the United States and Canada. There has been limited research on the baseline biological aspects of this insect under controlled conditions.