Wolbachia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales) Infections in Isolated Aphid Populations from Oceanic Islands of the Azores Archipelago: Revisiting the Supergroups M and N.

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) have provided a suitable model to study endosymbionts, their community, and dynamics since the discovery of the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola in these organisms. In previous studies, Wolbachia was found in some aphid species. In the present study, we report the prevalence of Wolbachia in aphids sampled from a geographically isolated region (Azores Islands), aiming at a better understanding and characterization of the two newly reported supergroups, M and N.

Larval cestodes infecting the deep-water fish, Cataetyx laticeps (Pisces: Bythitidae) from Madeira Archipelago, Atlantic Ocean.

Parasites of deep-water fishes are less known in comparison to the parasites of fishes living in the demersal and epipelagic ocean zones. In the present research note we report the occurrence of larval trypanorhynch cestodes in a rare deep-water fish, the deep-water brotula, Cataetyx laticeps. Based on the 28S rDNA (region D1-D3) sequence homology and the phylogenetic analysis, the larval cestodes are putatively assigned to the genus Grillotia.

Deep Interisland Genetic Divergence in the Macaronesian Endemic Mosquito Ochlerotatus eatoni (Diptera: Culicidae), Indication of Cryptic Species.

Ochlerotatus eatoni (Edwards, 1916) is a species endemic to Canary and Madeira Islands that, based on morphology, is considered to be single species. Mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequence data demonstrate that the populations from Tenerife and Madeira Islands are highly differentiated (F(ST) = 0.93).

Endohelminth parasites of the blacktail comber Serranus atricauda (Pisces: Serranidae), from Madeira Archipelago (Atlantic Ocean).

Four different endohelminth parasite taxa were found in the viscera of the blacktail comber Serranus atricauda Günther, 1874 caught in the Madeira Archipelago. Nematodes were the dominant group, represented by 2 different taxa, Hysterothylacium spp. Ward & Magath, 1917 and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) halitrophus Fusco & Overstreet, 1978 comb.

Genetic exchange versus genetic differentiation in a medium-sized inversion of Drosophila: the A2/Ast arrangements of Drosophila subobscura.

Chromosomal inversion polymorphism affects nucleotide variation at loci associated with inversions. In Drosophila subobscura, a species with a rich chromosomal inversion polymorphism and the largest recombinational map so far reported in the Drosophila genus, extensive genetic structure of nucleotide variation was detected in the segment affected by the O(3) inversion, a moderately sized inversion at Muller's element E. Indeed, a strong genetic differentiation all over O(3) and no evidence of a higher genetic exchange in the center of the inversion than at breakpoints were detected.

Population genetics of Ochlerotatus eatoni (Diptera: Culicidae) endemic species to two Macaronesian Islands.

Analyses of 11 isoenzyme loci of Ochlerotatus eatoni (Edwards, 1916), endemic to two Macaronesian Islands (Madeira and Tenerife, Canary Islands), revealed substantial genetic structure in the study populations. Samples from sites on the south and north of Madeira displayed a significant reduction of variability compared with those from central Madeira and Tenerife. The Tenerife population exhibited a severe deficit of heterozygosity with similar magnitude across all the loci examined.