Enzymatic characterization of recombinant α-amylase in the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup: is there an effect of specialization on digestive enzyme?

We performed a comparative study on the enzymological features of purified recombinant α-amylase of three species belonging to the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup: D. melanogaster, D. erecta and D.

Plant green-island phenotype induced by leaf-miners is mediated by bacterial symbionts.

The life cycles of many organisms are constrained by the seasonality of resources. This is particularly true for leaf-mining herbivorous insects that use deciduous leaves to fuel growth and reproduction even beyond leaf fall. Our results suggest that an intimate association with bacterial endosymbionts might be their way of coping with nutritional constraints to ensure successful development in an otherwise senescent environment.