The Spruce Budworm Genome: Reconstructing the Evolutionary History of Antifreeze Proteins.

Insects have developed various adaptations to survive harsh winter conditions. Among freeze-intolerant species, some produce "antifreeze proteins" (AFPs) that bind to nascent ice crystals and inhibit further ice growth. Such is the case of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a destructive North American conifer pest that can withstand temperatures below -30°C.

Soft Smart Garments for Lower Limb Joint Position Analysis.

Revealing human movement requires lightweight, flexible systems capable of detecting mechanical parameters (like strain and pressure) while being worn comfortably by the user, and not interfering with his/her activity. In this work we address such multifaceted challenge with the development of smart garments for lower limb motion detection, like a textile kneepad and anklet in which soft sensors and readout electronics are embedded for retrieving movement of the specific joint. Stretchable capacitive sensors with a three-electrode configuration are built combining conductive textiles and elastomeric layers, and distributed around knee and ankle.

Opposing effects of mortality factors on progeny operational sex ratio may thwart adaptive manipulation of primary sex ratio.

Despite extensive research on mechanisms generating biases in sex ratios, the capacity of natural enemies to shift or further skew operational sex ratios following sex allocation and parental care remains largely unstudied in natural populations. Male cocoons of the sawfly (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) are consistently smaller than those of females, with very little overlap, and thus, we were able to use cocoon size to sex cocoons. We studied three consecutive cohorts of in six forest stands to detect cocoon volume-associated biases in the attack of predators, pathogens, and parasitoids and examine how the combined effect of natural enemies shapes the realized operational sex ratio.

A plant-inspired robot with soft differential bending capabilities.

We present the design and development of a plant-inspired robot, named Plantoid, with sensorized robotic roots. Natural roots have a multi-sensing capability and show a soft bending behaviour to follow or escape from various environmental parameters (i.e.

Baculoviruses in populations of western spruce budworm.

Population studies of western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis, revealed that a baculovirus, ChocNPV, was widespread in outbreak populations over a broad geographical area of British Columbia, Canada although the rate of mortality was usually low (<5%). Elevated levels of ChocNPV-related mortality (≈20%) were found when western spruce budworm populations reached high densities (≈300 larvae per kg of Douglas-fir foliage) and contributed to declines in population densities in these areas. A subsample from budworm collections examined using a multiplex-PCR assay showed ChocNPV was the most prevalent virus but also often occurred in combination with a granulovirus, ChocGV and a cypovirus, CoCPV.

Revealing bending and force in a soft body through a plant root inspired approach.

An emerging challenge in soft robotics research is to reveal mechanical solicitations in a soft body. Nature provides amazing clues to develop unconventional components that are capable of compliant interactions with the environment and living beings, avoiding mechanical and algorithmic complexity of robotic design. We inspire from plant-root mechanoperception and develop a strategy able to reveal bending and applied force in a soft body with only two sensing elements of the same kind, and a null computational effort.

Comparative genome sequence analysis of Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman and C. rosaceana Harris (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) alphabaculoviruses.

The complete genome sequences of Choristoneura occidentalis and C. rosaceana nucleopolyhedroviruses (ChocNPV and ChroNPV, respectively) (Baculoviridae: Alphabaculovirus) were determined and compared with each other and with those of other baculoviruses, including the genome of the closely related C. fumiferana NPV (CfMNPV).

Synthetic and bio-artificial tactile sensing: a review.

This paper reviews the state of the art of artificial tactile sensing, with a particular focus on bio-hybrid and fully-biological approaches. To this aim, the study of physiology of the human sense of touch and of the coding mechanisms of tactile information is a significant starting point, which is briefly explored in this review. Then, the progress towards the development of an artificial sense of touch are investigated.

Characterization of the polydnaviral 'T. rostrale virus' (TrV) gene family: TrV1 expression inhibits in vitro cell proliferation.

Tranosema rostrale ichnovirus (TrIV) is a polydnavirus (PDV) transmitted by the endoparasitic wasp T. rostrale to its host Choristoneura fumiferana during oviposition. PDV genes are expressed in infected caterpillars, causing physiological disturbances that promote the survival of the developing endoparasite.

Transmission of a Gammabaculovirus within Cohorts of Balsam Fir Sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) Larvae.

Nucleopolyhedroviruses (NPV: Gammabaculovirus: Baculoviridae) of diprionid sawflies (Diprionidae: Hymenoptera) are highly host specific and only infect the midgut epithelium. While still alive, infected sawfly larvae excrete NPV-laden diarrhea that contaminates food sources. The diarrhea can then be consumed by conspecific larvae, resulting in rapid horizontal transmission of the virus.

Spread of a Gammabaculovirus within Larval Populations of Its Natural Balsam Fir Sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) Host Following Its Aerial Application.

Field trials and assessments of the balsam fir sawfly (Neodiprion abietis) nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeabNPV: Baculoviridae, Gammabaculovirus) against its natural host were conducted in July and August 2002 near Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, in naturally regenerated, precommercially thinned stands dominated by balsam fir (Abies balsamea). Two experimental blocks, each with its own untreated control, were established. The purpose of the Island Pond block was to examine the spread of NeabNPV from a 313-ha aerial treatment block out into adjacent populations of balsam fir sawflies.

In vitro culture of Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa nucleopolyhedrovirus in heterologous cell lines.

Infections of two heterologous insect cell lines derived from Malacosoma disstria (Md108) and Choristoneura fumiferana (Cf70) by the Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa nucleopolyhedrovirus (LafiNPV-W) were characterized. Cytopathic effects characteristic of LafiNPV-W infection, including rounding of cells, nuclear hypertrophy, and occlusion body (OB) production, were observed in both cell lines. Budded virus titers were slightly higher in Md108 cells than Cf70 cells (5.

An intracellular symbiont and other microbiota associated with field-collected populations of sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta).

Six species of sawfly (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) from four taxonomic families (Agridae, Diprionidae, Pamphiliidae, and Tenthredinidae) were collected from locations across Canada and surveyed for their associated microbiota. Total DNA was extracted from individual insects, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the conserved 16S rRNA gene from microbiota. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were undertaken to separate bacterial clones associated with the host insect.

Application of 16S rDNA-DGGE and plate culture to characterization of bacterial communities associated with the sawfly, Acantholyda erythrocephala (Hymenoptera, Pamphiliidae).

Culture-based analysis was employed in parallel with PCR amplification of 16S rDNA, coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), to profile bacterial species associated with different developmental stages of the pine false webworm (PFW), Acantholyda erythrocephala, a sawfly pest responsible for incidents of severe defoliation in commercially important tree plantations in North America. Culture-based analysis revealed that Pseudomonas spp. along with Bacillus sphaericus and Arthrobacter sp.

Molecular characterisation of a cypovirus isolated from the western spruce budworm Choristoneura occidentalis.

A novel cypovirus, assigned CoCPV, was isolated from natural populations of the western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis. The complete nucleotide sequences of genomic segments S2-S5 and S7-S10 were determined. Each segment contained a single open reading frame.

Fluctuations in density of an outbreak species drive diversity cascades in food webs.

Patterns in food-web structure have frequently been examined in static food webs, but few studies have attempted to delineate patterns that materialize in food webs under nonequilibrium conditions. Here, using one of nature's classical nonequilibrium systems as the food-web database, we test the major assumptions of recent advances in food-web theory. We show that a complex web of interactions between insect herbivores and their natural enemies displays significant architectural flexibility over a large fluctuation in the natural abundance of the major herbivore, the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana).

In vivo replication kinetics and transcription patterns of the nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeabNPV) of the balsam fir sawfly, Neodiprion abietis.

DNA replication and transcription of NeabNPV, the nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) of the balsam fir sawfly, Neodiprion abietis (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae), in host larvae were investigated. NPV DNA replication kinetics and gene-expression patterns have been resolved only in lepidopteran cell-culture systems and in limited in vivo experiments with lepidopteran larvae. Furthermore, there are significant differences in pathologies caused by lepidopteran NPVs, which replicate in many tissues, and hymenopteran NPVs, known to replicate in midgut epithelium only.

Ecosystem alteration modifies the relative strengths of bottom-up and top-down forces in a herbivore population.

1. Ecosystem alterations can affect the abundance, distribution and diversity of plants and animals, and thus potentially change the relative strength of bottom-up (the plant resource) and top-down (natural enemies) trophic forces acting on herbivore populations. 2.

Sequence analysis and organization of the Neodiprion abietis nucleopolyhedrovirus genome.

Of 30 baculovirus genomes that have been sequenced to date, the only nonlepidopteran baculoviruses include the dipteran Culex nigripalpus nucleopolyhedrovirus and two hymenopteran nucleopolyhedroviruses that infect the sawflies Neodiprion lecontei (NeleNPV) and Neodiprion sertifer (NeseNPV). This study provides a complete sequence and genome analysis of the nucleopolyhedrovirus that infects the balsam fir sawfly Neodiprion abietis (Hymenoptera, Symphyta, Diprionidae). The N.

Genomic comparison of Neodiprion sertifer and Neodiprion lecontei nucleopolyhedroviruses and identification of potential hymenopteran baculovirus-specific open reading frames.

Genomic comparison of Neodiprion sertifer nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeseNPV) and Neodiprion lecontei nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeleNPV) showed that the hymenopteran baculoviruses had features in common and were distinct from other, fully sequenced lepidopteran and dipteran baculoviruses. Their genomes were small in size (86,462 and 81,755 bp, respectively), had low G+C contents (33.8 and 33.

Sequence and organization of the Neodiprion lecontei nucleopolyhedrovirus genome.

All fully sequenced baculovirus genomes, with the exception of the dipteran Culex nigripalpus nucleopolyhedrovirus (CuniNPV), have previously been from Lepidoptera. This study reports the sequencing and characterization of a hymenopteran baculovirus, Neodiprion lecontei nucleopolyhedrovirus (NeleNPV), from the redheaded pine sawfly. NeleNPV has the smallest genome so far published (81,755 bp) and has a GC content of only 33.

Cytology of Leidyana canadensis (apicomplexa: eugregarinida) in Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria larvae (lepidoptera: geometridae).

The eugregarine Leidyana canadensis infects the larval gut of the eastern hemlock looper, Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria. Guts of infected larvae were chemically fixed, embedded in epoxy resin, and sectioned for light and electron microscopy to describe the cytology of L. canadensis and its pathology in the larval host.

Choristoneura fumiferana granulovirus: sequence analysis and 5' characterization of ORF891.

A gene located immediately upstream of the granulin gene of Choristoneura fumiferana (ChfuGV) granulovirus was identified, sequenced and named ORF891. The determined, putative open reading frame (ORF) of 891 bp encodes an estimated 34.6 kDa protein.