Impact of Larval Food Source on the Stability of the Bactrocera dorsalis Microbiome.

Bacterial symbionts are crucial to the biology of Bactrocera dorsalis. With larval diet (fruit host) being a key factor that determines microbiome composition and with B. dorsalis using more than 400 fruits as hosts, it is unclear if certain bacterial symbionts are preserved and are passed on to B.

Estragole, a potential attractant of the winged melon aphid Aphis gossypii.

Background: Aphids are sap-sucking insect pests of economic importance. They exhibit polyphenism, producing two kinds of morphotypes; winged (alate) and wingless (aptera) morphs. While wingless morphs can be controlled by insecticides, winged morphs are a challenge for targeted control measures as they can fly.

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella (L.) uses two different sensory modalities to evaluate the suitability of potential oviposition sites.

An ovipositing insect evaluates the benefits and risks associated with the selection of an oviposition site for optimizing the fitness and survival of its offspring. The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella (L.), uses beehives as an oviposition site.

1-Octanol emitted by Oecophylla smaragdina weaver ants repels and deters oviposition in Queensland fruit fly.

Humans have used weaver ants, Oecophylla smaragdina, as biological control agents to control insect pests in orchards for many centuries. Over recent decades, the effectiveness of weaver ants as biological control agents has been attributed in part to deterrent and oviposition inhibiting effects of kairomones produced by the ants, but the chemical identity of these kairomones has remained unknown. We have identified the kairomone responsible for deterrence and oviposition inhibition by O.

Endosymbiotic Bacteria Aid to Overcome Temperature Induced Stress in the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis.

Endosymbiotic microbiota are known to have an enormous impact on their host, influencing its physiology, behavior, fitness, and various other aspects. The present study hypothesizes that certain bacterial symbionts aid the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis in its adaptation to survive thermal stress encountered in the environment. Investigative studies on the change in gut and reproductive tract microbiota diversity of male and female B.

Overlooked Scents: Chemical Profile of Soma, Volatile Emissions and Trails of the Green Tree Ant, .

The green tree ant, , is one of only two recognized species of weaver ants. While the identity and functions of chemicals produced and emitted by its congener have been studied quite extensively and serve as a valuable model in chemical ecology research, little comparable information is available about . Although some analyses of chemicals produced and emitted by have been reported, the literature is fragmentary and incomplete for this species.

Forewarned is forearmed: Queensland fruit flies detect olfactory cues from predators and respond with predator-specific behaviour.

Animals can gain significant advantages from abilities to detect cues from predators, assess risks, and respond adaptively to reduce the likelihood of injurious interactions. In contrast, predator cue-induced changes in behaviour may interfere with fitness-associated activities such as exploration, foraging and reproduction. Despite the ecological importance of predator-prey interactions in insects, remarkably little is known about the abilities of insects to detect and respond to olfactory cues from predators, or the potential costs of such responses.

Commensal Bacteria Aid Mate-selection in the Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis.

Commensal bacteria influence many aspects of an organism's behaviour. However, studies on the influence of commensal bacteria in insect mate-selection are scarce. Here, we present empirical evidence that commensal bacteria mediate mate-selection in the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis.

Salicylic Acid Induces Changes in Mango Fruit that Affect Oviposition Behavior and Development of the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis.

The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) is an important quarantine pest around the globe. Although measures for its control are implemented worldwide through IPM and male annihilation, there is little effect on their population. Hence, there is a need for new strategies to control this minacious pest.

Centuries of domestication has not impaired oviposition site-selection function in the silkmoth, Bombyx mori.

Oviposition site-selection in insects is mediated through innate recognition templates (IRTs) tuned to specific chemical cues. These cues aid gravid insects in choosing suitable oviposition sites and may even enhance the fitness of their offspring by warding off predators and parasitoids. However, studies on the evolution of oviposition site-selection and cues instigating oviposition in domesticated insects remain elusive.

Aspergillus flavus impairs antioxidative enzymes of Sternochetus mangiferae during mycosis.

Insects depend upon cuticular, humoral and cellular defenses to resist mycosis. However, entomopathogenic fungi through co-evolution have developed mechanisms to counter such defenses. Although a plethora of mechanisms of mycosis by entomopathogenic fungi are well-established, studies on the impairment of insects' antioxidative enzymes during mycosis remain elusive.

Computational reverse chemical ecology: virtual screening and predicting behaviorally active semiochemicals for Bactrocera dorsalis.

Background: Semiochemical is a generic term used for a chemical substance that influences the behaviour of an organism. It is a common term used in the field of chemical ecology to encompass pheromones, allomones, kairomones, attractants and repellents. Insects have mastered the art of using semiochemicals as communication signals and rely on them to find mates, host or habitat.

Specific volatile compounds from mango elicit oviposition in gravid Bactrocera dorsalis females.

Selecting a suitable oviposition site is crucial to the fitness of female insects because it determines the successful development of their offspring. During the oviposition process, an insect must use cues from the external environment to make an appropriate choice of where to lay eggs. Generalist insects can detect and react to a plethora of cues, but are under selection pressure to adopt the most reliable ones to override noise and increase efficiency in finding hosts.

Oviposition site-selection by Bactrocera dorsalis is mediated through an innate recognition template tuned to γ-octalactone.

Innate recognition templates (IRTs) in insects are developed through many years of evolution. Here we investigated olfactory cues mediating oviposition behavior in the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, and their role in triggering an IRT for oviposition site recognition. Behavioral assays with electrophysiologically active compounds from a preferred host, mango, revealed that one of the volatiles tested, γ-octalactone, had a powerful effect in eliciting oviposition by gravid B.

Does the growth temperature of a prokaryote influence the purine content of its mRNAs?

The formation and breaking of hydrogen bonds between nucleic acid bases are dependent on temperature. The high G+C content of organisms was surmised to be an adaptation for high temperature survival because of the thermal stability of G:C pairs. However, a survey of genomic GC% and optimum growth temperature (OGT) of several prokaryotes revoked any direct relation between them.