Morphology and closing mechanism of the mandibular gland orifice in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

The mandibular gland of ants releases chemical compounds with functions ranging from nestmate alarm and recognition to antimicrobial defense. While the morphology of this ethologically important gland is well investigated in several species, the mechanism of secretion release in ants was not explicitly addressed so far. To clarify this question, we examined the anatomy of the gland orifice in ant species from 14 different subfamilies employing different techniques.

Effective symbiosis between Rhizobium etli and Phaseolus vulgaris requires the alarmone ppGpp.

The symbiotic interaction between Rhizobium etli and Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean plant, ultimately results in the formation of nitrogen-fixing nodules. Many aspects of the intermediate and late stages of this interaction are still poorly understood. The R.

Expression of a novel neuropeptide, NVGTLARDFQLPIPNamide, in the larval and adult brain of Drosophila melanogaster.

Advances in mass spectrometry and the availability of genomic databases made it possible to determine the peptidome or peptide content of a specific tissue. Peptidomics by nanoflow capillary liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry of an extract of 50 larval Drosophila brains, yielded 28 neuropeptides. Eight were entirely novel and encoded by five not yet annotated genes; only two genes had a homologue in the Anopheles gambiae genome.

The cin quorum sensing locus of Rhizobium etli CNPAF512 affects growth and symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Rhizobium etli CNPAF512 produces an autoinducer that inhibits growth of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae 248 and activates the Agrobacterium tumefaciens tra reporter system. Production of this compound in R.