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Dallavecchia DL, Ricardo E, da Silva AS, Rodrigues AG. Antibacterial and antifungal activity of excretions and secretions of Calliphora vicina. Med Vet Entomol 2021; 35:225-229. [PMID: 33063897 DOI: 10.1111/mve.12486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Revised: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major threat to global health in the 21st century, requiring a quick, cheap and effective response from public health officials. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of native excretions/secretions (NES) produced by third instar (3 days old) larvae of Calliphora vicina using a protocol adapted from the Institute of Clinical and Laboratory Standards (CLSI). The microorganisms tested were: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and the fungus Candida albicans. After the incubation period, the suspensions were diluted and spread on nutrient agar plates to count the colony-forming units. A turbidimetric test also was carried out to test the action of the NES of C. vicina against S. aureus, a very common bacterial species, with an enormous capacity for adaption and resistance, being one of the bacteria of medical importance that causes the most hospital and community infections in the world. According to our results, the NES of C. vicina exhibits antimicrobial activity at different dilutions, being most effective against the gram-negative bacteria E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
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Affiliation(s)
- D L Dallavecchia
- Microbiology Division, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto - Alameda Prof. Hernani Monteiro, Porto, Portugal
- CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília, Brazil
| | - E Ricardo
- Microbiology Division, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto - Alameda Prof. Hernani Monteiro, Porto, Portugal
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research - CINTESIS, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - A S da Silva
- Department of Quantitative Methods, Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro - UNIRIO, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - A G Rodrigues
- Microbiology Division, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto - Alameda Prof. Hernani Monteiro, Porto, Portugal
- Center for Health Technology and Services Research - CINTESIS, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Burn Unit, São João Hospital Center, Porto, Portugal
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Liu Z, Han H, Chen W, Wang S, Meng F, Cai J, Guo Y. Evaluation of Reference Genes and Age Estimation of Forensically Useful Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae) During Intrapuparial Period. J Med Entomol 2021; 58:47-55. [PMID: 32700732 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The minimum postmortem interval (PMImin) could be evaluated from the developmental stage of forensically important insects colonize a corpse, such as blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Unlike larvae, the developmental stage of which is well established according to their morphology, estimating the age of pupae is proven to be challenging. Recently, several studies reported the regulation of special genes during the development of blow fly pupae. However, gene regulation in Aldrichina grahami during the intrapuparial period remains to be studied. Therefore, we set out to investigate the mRNA levels of heat shock protein 23 (Hsp23), heat shock protein 24 (Hsp24), and 1_16 during the metamorphosis of A. grahami pupae. First, we examined seven candidate reference genes (ribosomal protein 49 (RP49), 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA), 28S ribosomal RNA (28S rRNA), beta-tubulin at 56D (β-tubulin), Ribosomal protein L23 (RPL23), glutathione S-transferase (GST1), and Actin. Three widely used algorithms (NormFinder, BestKeeper, and geNorm) were applied to evaluate the mRNA levels of reference gene candidates in puparium at three stable temperatures (15, 22, and 27°C). Next, mRNA expression of Hsp23, Hsp24, and 1_16 during A. grahami metamorphosis was examined. We demonstrated that mRNA expression levels of Hsp23, Hsp24, and 1_16 showed time-specific regulation. In summary, our study identified three gene markers for the intrapuparial period of A. grahami and might provide a potential application in PMImin estimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuoying Liu
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- Department of Anesthesiology and Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Han Han
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Shiwen Wang
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Fanming Meng
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jifeng Cai
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yadong Guo
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
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Mahmoudzadeh NH, Fitt AJ, Schwab DB, Martenis WE, Nease LM, Owings CG, Brinkley GJ, Li H, Karty JA, Sudarshan S, Hardy RW, Moczek AP, Picard CJ, Tennessen JM. The oncometabolite L-2-hydroxyglutarate is a common product of dipteran larval development. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2020; 127:103493. [PMID: 33157229 PMCID: PMC7704715 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The oncometabolite L-2-hydroxyglutarate (L-2HG) is considered an abnormal product of central carbon metabolism that is capable of disrupting chromatin architecture, mitochondrial metabolism, and cellular differentiation. Under most circumstances, mammalian tissues readily dispose of this compound, as aberrant L-2HG accumulation induces neurometabolic disorders and promotes renal cell carcinomas. Intriguingly, Drosophila melanogaster larvae were recently found to accumulate high L-2HG levels under normal growth conditions, raising the possibility that L-2HG plays a unique role in insect metabolism. Here we explore this hypothesis by analyzing L-2HG levels in 18 insect species. While L-2HG was present at low-to-moderate levels in most of these species (<100 pmol/mg; comparable to mouse liver), dipteran larvae exhibited a tendency to accumulate high L-2HG concentrations (>100 pmol/mg), with the mosquito Aedes aegypti, the blow fly Phormia regina, and three representative Drosophila species harboring concentrations that exceed 1 nmol/mg - levels comparable to those measured in mutant mice that are unable to degrade L-2HG. Overall, our findings suggest that one of the largest groups of animals on earth commonly generate high concentrations of an oncometabolite during juvenile growth, hint at a role for L-2HG in the evolution of dipteran development, and raise the possibility that L-2HG metabolism could be targeted to restrict the growth of key disease vectors and agricultural pests.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexander J Fitt
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Daniel B Schwab
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | | | - Lauren M Nease
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Charity G Owings
- Department of Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Garrett J Brinkley
- Department of Urology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Hongde Li
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Jonathan A Karty
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Sunil Sudarshan
- Department of Urology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Richard W Hardy
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Armin P Moczek
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Christine J Picard
- Department of Biology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Jason M Tennessen
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
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Wei H, Kyung HY, Kim PJ, Desplan C. The diversity of lobula plate tangential cells (LPTCs) in the Drosophila motion vision system. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2019; 206:139-148. [PMID: 31709462 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01380-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
To navigate through the environment, animals rely on visual feedback to control their movements relative to their surroundings. In dipteran flies, visual feedback is provided by the wide-field motion-sensitive neurons in the visual system called lobula plate tangential cells (LPTCs). Understanding the role of LPTCs in fly behaviors can address many fundamental questions on how sensory circuits guide behaviors. The blowfly was estimated to have ~ 60 LPTCs, but only a few have been identified in Drosophila. We conducted a Gal4 driver screen and identified five LPTC subtypes in Drosophila, based on their morphological characteristics: LPTCs have large arborizations in the lobula plate and project to the central brain. We compared their morphologies to the blowfly LPTCs and named them after the most similar blowfly cells: CH, H1, H2, FD1 and FD3, and V1. We further characterized their pre- and post-synaptic organizations, as well as their neurotransmitter profiles. These anatomical features largely agree with the anatomy and function of their likely blowfly counterparts. Nevertheless, several anatomical details indicate the Drosophila LPTCs may have more complex functions. Our characterization of these five LPTCs in Drosophila will facilitate further functional studies to understand their roles in the visual circuits that instruct fly behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huayi Wei
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ha Young Kyung
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Priscilla J Kim
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Claude Desplan
- Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
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