Circulation of bee-infecting viruses in Brazil: a call for action.

Bees are fundamental for maintaining pollination-dependent plant populations, both economically and ecologically. In Brazil, they constitute 66.3% of pollinators, contributing to an annual market value estimated at R$ 43 billion for pollination services.

The Viromes of Six Ecosystem Service Provider Parasitoid Wasps.

Parasitoid wasps are fundamental insects for the biological control of agricultural pests. Despite the importance of wasps as natural enemies for more sustainable and healthy agriculture, the factors that could impact their species richness, abundance, and fitness, such as viral diseases, remain almost unexplored. Parasitoid wasps have been studied with regard to the endogenization of viral elements and the transmission of endogenous viral proteins that facilitate parasitism.

Mining Public Data to Investigate the Virome of Neglected Pollinators and Other Floral Visitors.

This study reports the virome investigation of pollinator species and other floral visitors associated with plants from the south of Bahia: , sp., sp., , and .

Genome-wide identification of miRNAs and target regulatory network in the invasive ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor.

Varroa destructor is an ectoparasite mite that attacks bees leading to colony disorders worldwide. microRNAs (miRNAs) are key molecules used by eukaryotes to post-transcriptional control of gene expression. Nevertheless, still lack information aboutV.

Cytogenetic Analysis in Trigona spinipes Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Meliponina) Reveals Intraspecific Variation.

Trigona spinipes Fabricius is a stingless bee with wide geographical distribution. Although being sometimes considered an agricultural pest, in fact, it has great pollinating potential, and therefore economic interest. Conventional and molecular cytogenetic techniques have been little used to verify genetic diversity in this species, despite its potential to reveal information about the reorganization of the genome having been demonstrated in other species.

A cytogenetic study of three parasitic wasp species (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae, Trichogrammatidae) from Brazil using chromosome morphometrics and base-specific fluorochrome staining.

Chromosomes of three chalcid wasp species from Brazil, Delvare et LaSalle, 1993, Cherian et Margabandhu, 1942 (both belonging to the family Eulophidae) and Riley, 1879 (Trichogrammatidae), were studied using chromosome morphometrics and base-specific fluorochrome staining. The present study confirmed that these species respectively have 2n = 12, 14 and 10. Chromomycin A / 4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (CMA/DAPI) staining revealed a single CMA-positive and DAPI-negative band within haploid karyotypes of both and .

Model-based analyses reveal insular population diversification and cryptic frog species in the Ischnocnema parva complex in the Atlantic forest of Brazil.

The Atlantic Forest (AF) of Brazil has long been recognized as a biodiversity conservation hotspot. Despite decades of studies the species inventory of this biome continues to increase with the discovery of cryptic diversity and the description of new species. Different diversification mechanisms have been proposed to explain the diversity in the region, including models of forest dynamics, barriers to gene flow and dispersal.

Cytogenetic data on six leafcutter ants of the genus Acromyrmex Mayr, 1865 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae): insights into chromosome evolution and taxonomic implications.

Cytogenetic data for the genus Acromyrmex Mayr, 1865 are available, to date, for a few species from Brazil and Uruguay, which have uniform chromosome numbers (2n = 38). The recent cytogenetic data of Acromyrmex striatus (Roger, 1863), including its banding patterns, showed a distinct karyotype (2n = 22), similar to earlier studied Atta Fabricius, 1804 species. Karyological data are still scarce for the leafcutter ants and many gaps are still present for a proper understanding of this group.

Covalently-layers of PVA and PAA and in situ formed Ag nanoparticles as versatile antimicrobial surfaces.

The in situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within covalently-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films possessing ultra-thin layer of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is successfully demonstrated. The resulting polymeric films are shown to exhibit antimicrobial activities toward Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and fungus (Candida albicans). To make the films, first PET surfaces were subject to photo-oxidation and subsequent solid-state grafting to attach a PVA layer, followed by a PAA layer.

First description of the karyotype of a eucharitid wasp (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eucharitidae).

The haploid karyotype of Kapala sp. (Eucharitidae), a parasite of the Neotropical ant Dinoponera lucida Emery, 1901 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), is reported for the first time. It consists of four metacentric chromosomes.

Molecular phylogeny and historical biogeography of the neotropical swarm-founding social wasp genus Synoeca (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).

The Neotropical Region harbors high biodiversity and many studies on mammals, reptiles, amphibians and avifauna have investigated the causes for this pattern. However, there is a paucity of such studies that focus on Neotropical insect groups. Synoeca de Saussure, 1852 is a Neotropical swarm-founding social wasp genus with five described species that is broadly and conspicuously distributed throughout the Neotropics.

Acute and Chronic Toxicity of an Aqueous Fraction of the Stem Bark of Stryphnodendron adstringens (Barbatimão) in Rodents.

Stryphnodendron adstringens has a high tannin content and is used as an antiseptic and antimicrobial and in the treatment of leucorrhea, gonorrhea, wound healing, and gastritis. The present study evaluated the toxic effects of the heptamer prodelphinidin (F2) from the stem bark of S. adstringens in rodents.

Numerical and structural chromosome variation in the swarm-founding wasp Metapolybia decorata Gribodo 1896 (Hymenoptera, Vespidae).

The Neotropical Polistinae wasps are diverse in taxonomy, social behavior, and nesting founding characteristics. Although some species in this group have been used as models for studies on wasp's biology, they are poorly known in terms of cytogenetics. Here we reported an intraspecific numerical-structural chromosome variation in the swarm-founding wasp Metapolybia decorata from the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest using conventional and molecular cytogenetic techniques.

Cytogenetic divergence in two sympatric fish species of the genus Astyanax Baird and Girard, 1854 (Characiformes, Characidae) from northeastern Brazil.

The fish genus Astyanax is widespread throughout the Neotropical region and is one of the most species-rich genera of the Characiformes. Cytogenetic studies of Astyanax have revealed marked intra- and interspecific diversity, with the identification of various species complexes. In this report, we describe the karyotypic structure of two sympatric species of Astyanax (Astyanax sp.

Leishmania amazonensis: effects of oral treatment with copaiba oil in mice.

Leishmaniasis is a severe public-health problem, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Efforts to find new, effective and safe oral agents for the treatment of leishmaniasis have been ongoing for several decades, in order to avoid the problems with the currently used antimonials. In the present study, we found that a copaiba oil oral treatment (Group IV) caused a significant reduction in the average lesion size (1.

Cytogenetic characterization of two species of Frieseomelitta Ihering, 1912 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini).

The cytogenetic analysis of Frieseomelitta dispar and F. francoi revealed the chromosome numbers 2n = 30 and n = 15 and a karyotypic formula 2K = 4M+2M(t)+4A+20A(M). The number of chromosomes observed was consistent with those reported for other Frieseomelitta species.

Occurrence of B chromosomes in Tetragonisca Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): A new contribution to the cytotaxonomy of the genus.

Tetragonisca angustula and Tetragonisca fiebrigi have recently been listed as valid species. This study aimed to cytogenetically investigate both species, emphasizing the new registry of B chromosomes in the tribe Meliponini. We analyzed colonies of T.

Molecular characterization of constitutive heterochromatin in three species of Trypoxylon (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Trypoxylini) by CMA3/DAPI staining.

Previous cytogenetic analyses in Trypoxylon Latreille, 1796 have been basically restricted to C-banding. In the present study, base-specific CMA3 and DAPI fluorochrome staining were used to characterize the constitutive heterochromatin in three Trypoxylon species. The heterochromatin was GC-rich in all the species studied; however, in Trypoxylon nitidum F.

Safety evaluation of proanthocyanidin polymer-rich fraction obtained from stem bark of Stryphnodendron adstringens (BARBATIMAO) for use as a pharmacological agent.

The widespread use of medicinal plants among the Brazilian population warrants an assessment of the potential risks associated with their intake. Stryphnodendron adstringens (barbatimão) is one of the most frequently used medicinal plants in Brazil, and the risks associated with its use have yet to be investigated. This study evaluated the genotoxic safety of the use of the proanthocyanidin polymer-rich fraction (F2) of stem bark of S.

New occurrence of B chromosomes in Partamonahelleri (Friese, 1900) (Hymenoptera, Meliponini).

Cytogenetic analyses of the stingless bee Partamona helleri collected in the state of Bahia, Northeast Brazil revealed the chromosome numbers n = 18 in the haploid males and 2n = 35 in the diploid females. All karyotypes displayed one large acrocentric B chromosome, which differs from the minute B chromosomes previously described in the populations from southeastern Brazil. Giemsa staining, C-banding and DAPI/CMA(3) fluorochrome staining also revealed a remarkable interpopulational divergence regarding both the regular karyotype and the B chromosomes.

Phylogenetic relationships among morphotypes of Caesalpinia echinata Lam. (Caesalpinioideae: Leguminosae) evidenced by trnL intron sequences.

Caesalpinia echinata (brazilwood or Pernambuco wood) comprises a complex of three morphological leaf variants, characterized by differences in the number and size of the pinnae and leaflets, and occurring in allopatric and sympatric populations. The present study evaluates the utility of the chloroplast DNA trnL intron in a phylogenetic analysis of the three leaf variants along with other species of Caesalpinia and generic relatives. Our study supports the hypothesis that the name C.