Study on Periplaneta americana (Blattodea: Blattidae) Fungal Infections in Hospital Sewer System, Esfahan City, Iran, 2017

The draft genome dataset of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus, 1758) (Blattidae: Blattinae)

Periplaneta americana is a cosmopolitan pest cockroach endemic to tropical and subtropical climates. It occurs frequently in urban sewer and wastewater system and transit in human proximities, spreading pathogens that causes serious public health concerns such as asthma, allergies, and others. By using the Next-generation Sequencing (NGS) known as Illumina NovaSeq 6000, this article documents for the draft genome data set of P. americana collected in Penang Island, Malaysia. This article displays the pair-end 150 bp genome dataset and results on the sequence quality. This genome dataset presents the information for further understanding of P. americana populations at molecular level and the opportunity to develop effective control and management strategies for the species. This dataset is available under Sequence Read Archive (SRA) databases with the SRR23867103.

Evaluation of Repellency and Lethal Effects of Ultrasonic Waves on the Blattella germanica (Blattodea: Blattellidae)

Background

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Insecta: Blattodea, Blattellidae), which occurs widely in human buildings, is a small cockroach species. Cockroach control chemical pesticides are toxic to the environment, and it is sometimes impossible to prevent them. Controlling Blattella germanica through ultrasonic waves can be efficient and less dangerous for the environment.

Methods

In this study, the repellency and lethal effect of ultrasonic waves on male and female German cockroaches was tested in a twin glass cubic chamber at laboratory condition. The wave frequencies tested ranged from 20 to 100kHz with 5kHz steps. A signal generator generated these frequencies, and the piezoelectric transmitter of these ultrasonic waves was positioned in the chamber's center on the upper side.

Results

Fisher's test showed that there was the greatest repellency effect in both male and female at frequencies of 35 and 40kHz. According to the results of the regression test, the most lethal effect is at the frequencies of 40 and 75kHz.

Conclusion

The operating ultrasonic frequencies investigated in this study can be used to repel and kill German cockroaches as pests endangering human health and environment.

An embryonic cell line from the American cockroach Periplaneta americana L. (Blattaria: Blattidae) exhibits susceptibility to AcMNPV

Although the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is widely used in the production of recombinant proteins, only a few lepidopteran insect cell lines have been successfully used so far. This study aimed at evaluating the characteristics of an embryonic cell line from the American cockroach Periplaneta americana L., RIRI-PA1, and determining whether it could be used in recombinant protein expression. Wild type Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV-wt) and green fluorescent protein (GFP)-replicating recombinant baculoviruses (AcMNPV-GFP) were used to infect RIRI-PA1 respectively, demonstrating that RIRI-PA1 cells could be infected by AcMNPV and express recombinant proteins. Within 24 h of infection with AcMNPV-GFP, the GFP expression was higher than that in Sf21 cells. Furthermore, the infection of RIRI-PA1 cells increased gradually (multiplicity of infection, 10) within 24 h, while in Sf21 cells, the infection only began to increase within 48 h. However, after exposure for 96-168 h, the virus progeny and recombinant protein production of RIRI-PA1 cells was lower than those of Sf21 cells. Western blotting revealed that RIRI-PA1 cells could express recombinant GFP, and the protein expression level positively correlated with the multiplicity of infection. In conclusion, this is the first report that a cell line from P. americana has shown susceptibility to infection from a baculovirus and likewise express recombinant protein. Although the yield of recombinant GFP was not as high as that of Sf21 cells, the results nonetheless showed that RIRI-PA1 had an infection rate advantage in the short term (within 24 h of infection), which is of great value for further development and utilization.