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Amanda S Souza - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Paralytic activity of lysophosphatidylcholine from saliva of the waterbug Belostoma anurum.
The Journal of experimental biology, 2010Co-Authors: Lívia Silva-cardoso, Paola Caccin, Anna Magnabosco, Maria Patrón, Mariane Targino, André Fuly, Giselle A Oliveira, Marcos H Pereira, Maria Das Graças T Do Carmo, Amanda S SouzaAbstract:Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is a major bioactive lipid that is enzymatically generated by phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)). Previously, we showed that LPC is present in the saliva of the blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus and modulates cell-signaling pathways involved in vascular biology, which aids blood feeding. Here, we show that the saliva of the predator insect Belostoma anurum contains a large number of lipids with LPC accounting for 25% of the total phospholipids. A PLA(2) enzyme likely to be involved in LPC generation was characterized. The activity of this enzyme is 5-fold higher in Belostoma saliva than in other studied hemipterans, suggesting a close association with the predator feeding habits of this insect. Belostoma employs extra-oral digestion, which allows for ingestion of larger prey than itself, including small vertebrates such as amphibians and fish. Therefore, prey immobilization during digestion is essential, and we show here that Belostoma saliva and B. anurum saliva purified LPC have paralytic activity in zebrafish. This is the first evidence that lysophospholipids might play an important role in prey immobilization, in addition to contributing to blood feeding, and might have been an evolutionary acquisition that occurred long before the appearance of hematophagy in this animal group.
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Paralytic activity of lysophosphatidylcholine from saliva of the waterbug Belostoma anurum
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2010Co-Authors: Lívia Silva-cardoso, Paola Caccin, Anna Magnabosco, Maria Patrón, Mariane Targino, André Fuly, Giselle A Oliveira, Marcos H Pereira, Maria Das Graças Tavares Do Carmo, Amanda S SouzaAbstract:Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is a major bioactive lipid that is enzymatically generated by phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Previously, we showed that LPC is present in the saliva of the blood-sucking hemipteran Rhodnius prolixus and modulates cell-signaling pathways involved in vascular biology, which aids blood feeding. Here, we show that the saliva of the predator insect Belostoma anurum contains a large number of lipids with LPC accounting for 25% of the total phospholipids. A PLA2 enzyme likely to be involved in LPC generation was characterized. The activity of this enzyme is 5-fold higher in Belostoma saliva than in other studied hemipterans, suggesting a close association with the predator feeding habits of this insect. Belostoma employs extra-oral digestion, which allows for ingestion of larger prey than itself, including small vertebrates such as amphibians and fish. Therefore, prey immobilization during digestion is essential, and we show here that Belostoma saliva and B. anurum saliva purified LPC have paralytic activity in zebrafish. This is the first evidence that lysophospholipids might play an important role in prey immobilization, in addition to contributing to blood feeding, and might have been an evolutionary acquisition that occurred long before the appearance of hematophagy in this animal group. * BaLPC : Belostoma anurum saliva-purified LPC EOD : extra oral digestion FA : fatty acid LPC : lysophosphatidylcholine NBD-PC : 1-acyl-2-{6-[(7-nitro-2-1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]hexanoyl}- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine NMJ : neuromuscular junction NO : nitric oxide oxLDL : low density lipoprotein, oxidated PC : phosphatidylcholine PED6 : N -{[6-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) amino] hexanoyl}-2 (4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza- s -indacene-3-pentanoyl) 1-hexadecanoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine PGE2 : prostaglandin E2 PLA2 : phospholipase A2 SCMNs : primary rat spinal motor neurons TLC : thin layer chromatography
Kipp C. Kruse - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Reproduction Decreases Life Span in the Giant Waterbug (Belostoma flumineum)
The American Midland Naturalist, 2003Co-Authors: Matthew R. Gilg, Kipp C. KruseAbstract:Abstract Senescence is the result of age-specific trade-offs among life history traits. Energetic trade-offs among various components of an organism's energy budget can also affect an individual's life span. An increase in reproductive effort, for instance, can result in less energy available for maintenance of body tissues resulting in a shorter life span. We investigated the effects of reproduction on longevity of giant waterbugs (Belostoma flumineum). Female giant waterbugs oviposit eggs onto the backs of males which then provide all post-copulatory parental care. The number of reproductions was manipulated in both males and females, and male waterbugs were divided into groups that provided parental care or did not. This allowed us to determine the relative costs of mating versus parental care. Both male and female waterbugs maintained as virgins outlived those that bred. Parental care incurred a greater cost in male waterbugs than the act of mating, but the number of reproductions had no effect on lif...
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Factors affecting the allocation of paternal care in waterbugs (Belostoma flumineum Say)
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1992Co-Authors: Scott L. Kight, Kipp C. KruseAbstract:Male giant waterbugs ( Belostoma flumineum Say) brood eggs oviposited on their dorsa by conspecific females. Laboratory observations indicate that viable egg pads are occasionally discarded before hatching. Theory predicts that such behavior should occur only if the costs incurred by brooding exceed the benefits of hatching the egg pad. We studied the effects of egg pad size, time invested in brooding, and egg viability upon the continuation of paternal care in the giant waterbug. We found that smaller egg pads are less likely to hatch than larger ones, and males appear to be less likely to discard egg pads as temporal investment increases. However, the inviability of eggs did not appear to affect the probability of an egg pad being discarded. Males of this species appear to have evolved a decision-making process involving the continuation of paternal care.
José F. R. Amato - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour) (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) hosting metacercariae of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun (Digenea, Stomylotrematidae) in southern Brazil
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 2006Co-Authors: Suzana B. Amato, José F. R. AmatoAbstract:Giant water bugs (aquatic Heteroptera), Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour, 1863), were collected in rice plantation water canals, in the Municipality of Eldorado do Sul, outskirts of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Five specimens were dissected with the objective of finding metacercariae of digenetic trematodes. Four of them (80%) were positive for metacercarial cysts of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun, 1901. The intensities of infection varied from 1 to 16 metacercariae per host (average 7.6). The cysts were whitish, translu- cent, and found loose among the viscera, in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Belostoma dilatatum is a new host record for metacercarial cysts of stomylotrematid digenetic trematodes and this is the first time that aquatic hemipterans are recorded as second intermediate hosts of digenetic trematodes in Brazil.
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Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour) (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) hosting metacercariae of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun (Digenea, Stomylotrematidae) in southern Brazil Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour) (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) hospedando metacercárias de Stomylo
Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia, 2006Co-Authors: Suzana B. Amato, José F. R. AmatoAbstract:Giant water bugs (aquatic Heteroptera), Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour, 1863), were collected in rice plantation water canals, in the Municipality of Eldorado do Sul, outskirts of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Five specimens were dissected with the objective of finding metacercariae of digenetic trematodes. Four of them (80%) were positive for metacercarial cysts of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun, 1901. The intensities of infection varied from 1 to 16 metacercariae per host (average 7.6). The cysts were whitish, translucent, and found loose among the viscera, in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Belostoma dilatatum is a new host record for metacercarial cysts of stomylotrematid digenetic trematodes and this is the first time that aquatic hemipterans are recorded as second intermediate hosts of digenetic trematodes in Brazil.Baratas-d'água (heterópteros aquáticos), Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour, 1863), foram coletadas em canais ao lado de taipas e córregos em plantações de arroz, no Município de Eldorado do Sul, grande Porto Alegre, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, região Sul do Brasil. Cinco espécimes foram examinados com o objetivo de detectar a presença de metacercárias de trematódeos digenéticos. Quatro deles (80%) estavam positivos para cistos de metacercárias de Stomylotrema vicarium Braun, 1901. As intensidades de infecção variaram de 1 a 16 metacercárias por hospedeiro (média de 7,6). Os cistos eram esbranquiçados, translúcidos, e estavam soltos entre as vísceras, nas cavidades abdominal e torácica dos hemípteros. Belostoma dilatatum é um novo registro de hospedeiro para metacercárias de trematódeos digenéticos da família Stomylotrematidae, assim como este é o primeiro registro de hemípteros aquáticos servindo como segundo hospedeiro intermediário de trematódeos digenéticos no Brasil
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New species of Temnocephala Blanchard (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida) ectosymbiont on giant water bugs, Belostoma spp. (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) from southern Brazil Nova espécie do gênero Temnocephala Blanchard (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida)
Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia, 2005Co-Authors: José F. R. Amato, Suzana B. AmatoAbstract:A new species of Temnocephala Blanchard, 1849 is described from southern Brazil, ectosymbiont on giant water bugs (aquatic hemipterans), Belostoma spp. from the greater Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul. Some hemipterans examined were positive for this species of Temnocephala and carried bunches of eggs between the first two pairs of legs and between the first pair of legs and the rostrum, as well as adult and young specimens. The adults were darkly pigmented (greenish-brown), mimetizing the color of the hemipteran hosts. The new species is similar to Temnocephala decarloi Moretto, 1978, from Argentina, the only other species of Temnocephala from Belostomatid hemipterans known to date, by having an extra long and curved cirrus, but differs by having the distal portion of the introvert not bent as a 'full-bent' smoking pipe-like, as the author depicted originally for T. decarloi.Uma nova espécie de Temnocephala Blanchard, 1849 é descrita para o sul do Brasil, ectosimbionte sobre baratas-d'água (hemípteros aquáticos), Belostoma spp. da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Vários hemípteros examinados estavam positivos para esta espécie do gênero Temnocephala, inclusive com posturas sempre localizadas na face ventral entre os dois primeiros pares de apêndices locomotores, e entre o primeiro par de pernas e o rostro. Espécimes adultos e jovens de tamanhos variados também foram sempre encontrados na face ventral do hemíptero. Os vermes adultos eram pigmentados (marrom-esverdeado), mimetizando a cor do exoesqueleto de seus hospedeiros. A nova espécie é semelhante à Temnocephala decarloi Moretto, 1978, descrita da Argentina, única espécie conhecida do gênero já encontrada sobre hemípteros Belostomatídeos, por ter um cirro extremamente longo e curvo, mas difere desta por ter a porção distal do 'introvert' sem a forma típica de um cachimbo ('full-bent') como ilustrada pelo autor na descrição original
Suzana B. Amato - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour) (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) hosting metacercariae of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun (Digenea, Stomylotrematidae) in southern Brazil
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 2006Co-Authors: Suzana B. Amato, José F. R. AmatoAbstract:Giant water bugs (aquatic Heteroptera), Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour, 1863), were collected in rice plantation water canals, in the Municipality of Eldorado do Sul, outskirts of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Five specimens were dissected with the objective of finding metacercariae of digenetic trematodes. Four of them (80%) were positive for metacercarial cysts of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun, 1901. The intensities of infection varied from 1 to 16 metacercariae per host (average 7.6). The cysts were whitish, translu- cent, and found loose among the viscera, in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Belostoma dilatatum is a new host record for metacercarial cysts of stomylotrematid digenetic trematodes and this is the first time that aquatic hemipterans are recorded as second intermediate hosts of digenetic trematodes in Brazil.
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Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour) (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) hosting metacercariae of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun (Digenea, Stomylotrematidae) in southern Brazil Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour) (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) hospedando metacercárias de Stomylo
Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia, 2006Co-Authors: Suzana B. Amato, José F. R. AmatoAbstract:Giant water bugs (aquatic Heteroptera), Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour, 1863), were collected in rice plantation water canals, in the Municipality of Eldorado do Sul, outskirts of Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Five specimens were dissected with the objective of finding metacercariae of digenetic trematodes. Four of them (80%) were positive for metacercarial cysts of Stomylotrema vicarium Braun, 1901. The intensities of infection varied from 1 to 16 metacercariae per host (average 7.6). The cysts were whitish, translucent, and found loose among the viscera, in the abdominal and thoracic cavities. Belostoma dilatatum is a new host record for metacercarial cysts of stomylotrematid digenetic trematodes and this is the first time that aquatic hemipterans are recorded as second intermediate hosts of digenetic trematodes in Brazil.Baratas-d'água (heterópteros aquáticos), Belostoma dilatatum (Dufour, 1863), foram coletadas em canais ao lado de taipas e córregos em plantações de arroz, no Município de Eldorado do Sul, grande Porto Alegre, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, região Sul do Brasil. Cinco espécimes foram examinados com o objetivo de detectar a presença de metacercárias de trematódeos digenéticos. Quatro deles (80%) estavam positivos para cistos de metacercárias de Stomylotrema vicarium Braun, 1901. As intensidades de infecção variaram de 1 a 16 metacercárias por hospedeiro (média de 7,6). Os cistos eram esbranquiçados, translúcidos, e estavam soltos entre as vísceras, nas cavidades abdominal e torácica dos hemípteros. Belostoma dilatatum é um novo registro de hospedeiro para metacercárias de trematódeos digenéticos da família Stomylotrematidae, assim como este é o primeiro registro de hemípteros aquáticos servindo como segundo hospedeiro intermediário de trematódeos digenéticos no Brasil
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New species of Temnocephala Blanchard (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida) ectosymbiont on giant water bugs, Belostoma spp. (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) from southern Brazil Nova espécie do gênero Temnocephala Blanchard (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida)
Sociedade Brasileira de Zoologia, 2005Co-Authors: José F. R. Amato, Suzana B. AmatoAbstract:A new species of Temnocephala Blanchard, 1849 is described from southern Brazil, ectosymbiont on giant water bugs (aquatic hemipterans), Belostoma spp. from the greater Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul. Some hemipterans examined were positive for this species of Temnocephala and carried bunches of eggs between the first two pairs of legs and between the first pair of legs and the rostrum, as well as adult and young specimens. The adults were darkly pigmented (greenish-brown), mimetizing the color of the hemipteran hosts. The new species is similar to Temnocephala decarloi Moretto, 1978, from Argentina, the only other species of Temnocephala from Belostomatid hemipterans known to date, by having an extra long and curved cirrus, but differs by having the distal portion of the introvert not bent as a 'full-bent' smoking pipe-like, as the author depicted originally for T. decarloi.Uma nova espécie de Temnocephala Blanchard, 1849 é descrita para o sul do Brasil, ectosimbionte sobre baratas-d'água (hemípteros aquáticos), Belostoma spp. da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Vários hemípteros examinados estavam positivos para esta espécie do gênero Temnocephala, inclusive com posturas sempre localizadas na face ventral entre os dois primeiros pares de apêndices locomotores, e entre o primeiro par de pernas e o rostro. Espécimes adultos e jovens de tamanhos variados também foram sempre encontrados na face ventral do hemíptero. Os vermes adultos eram pigmentados (marrom-esverdeado), mimetizando a cor do exoesqueleto de seus hospedeiros. A nova espécie é semelhante à Temnocephala decarloi Moretto, 1978, descrita da Argentina, única espécie conhecida do gênero já encontrada sobre hemípteros Belostomatídeos, por ter um cirro extremamente longo e curvo, mas difere desta por ter a porção distal do 'introvert' sem a forma típica de um cachimbo ('full-bent') como ilustrada pelo autor na descrição original
Michael Tobler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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female body size and
2016Co-Authors: Martin Plath, Rüdiger Riesch, Zach Culumber, Bruno Streit, Michael ToblerAbstract:Giant water bug (Belostoma sp.) predation on a cave fish (Poecilia mexicana): effects o
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Giant water bug (Belostoma sp.) predation on a cave fish (Poecilia mexicana): effects of female body size and gestational state
Evolutionary Ecology Research, 2011Co-Authors: Martin Plath, Rüdiger Riesch, Zach Culumber, Bruno Streit, Michael ToblerAbstract:Background: Predation is an important driver of life-history trait evolution. Fish predators may prey selectively on certain prey size classes, or pregnant females, particularly those of livebearing prey species. This selectivity ought to affect the evolutionary trajectory of the prey population. In sulphidic and hypoxic habitats, Atlantic mollies ( Poecilia mexicana ) have to spend considerable time engaging in aquatic surface respiration, exposing themselves to predation by giant water bugs ( Belostoma sp.). Compared with other females, pregnant P. mexicana experience greater oxygen demands leading to more aquatic surface respiration. Questions: Are pregnant P. mexicana females more likely to be captured by Belostoma as a result of more aquatic surface respiration and decreased flight abilities (i.e. slower fast–start responses)? Organisms and location: (1) Atlantic mollies ( P. mexicana : Poeciliidae, Teleostei) inhabiting a sulphidic cave (Cueva del Azufre) in Tabasco, Mexico. (2) A co-existing sit-and-wait predator, the giant water bug Belostoma sp. (Belostomatidae, Hemiptera), which catches surfacing fish at the water’s edge. Methods: Predation experiments inside the Cueva del Azufre. In Experiment 1, one randomly selected cave molly female was placed into a perforated bottle with one individual water bug. In Experiment 2, two size-matched females (one pregnant and one non-pregnant) were placed into a perforated bottle with one individual water bug. Results: Capture rates after 24 h in Experiment 1 were correlated mainly with female body size. But larger females were also more likely to be pregnant, making it difficult to disentangle the effects of size and pregnancy. Experiment 2 isolated the effect of pregnancy, and water bugs clearly preferred pregnant over non-pregnant prey.
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Does a predatory insect contribute to the divergence between cave- and surface-adapted fish populations?
Biology letters, 2009Co-Authors: Michael ToblerAbstract:Immigrant inviability, where individuals from foreign, ecologically divergent habitats are less likely to survive, can restrict gene flow among diverging populations and result in speciation. I investigated whether a predatory aquatic insect (Belostoma sp.) selects against migrants between cave and surface populations of a fish (Poecilia mexicana). Cavefish were more susceptible to attacks in the light, whereas surface fish were more susceptible in darkness. Environmentally dependent susceptibility to attacks may thus contribute to genetic and phenotypic differentiation between the populations. This study highlights how predation—in this case in conjunction with differences in other environmental factors—can be an important driver in speciation.
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Male-biased predation of a cave fish by a giant water bug
Die Naturwissenschaften, 2008Co-Authors: Michael Tobler, Courtney M. Franssen, Martin PlathAbstract:Male-biased predation has been described from several epigean species, and in many cases, intrinsic differences between the sexes (such as male ornaments) have been suggested as an explanation. Here we report on male-biased predation of a cave fish (Poecilia mexicana) by an aquatic insect (Belostoma sp.) in a Mexican sulfur cave. P. mexicana use aquatic surface respiration (ASR) to survive in their sulfidic, hypoxic habitat. We found that males typically exhibit more ASR activity than females, which leads to increased exposure to the sit-and-wait predator that catches fish near the water surface. Our finding is novel, because male vulnerability to predation is not directly related to male traits involved in courtship, but rather due to other sexual differences in behavior and ultimately, oxygen demands.
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predation of a cave fish poecilia mexicana poeciliidae by a giant water bug Belostoma Belostomatidae in a mexican sulphur cave
Ecological Entomology, 2007Co-Authors: Ingo Schlupp, Michael Tobler, Martin PlathAbstract:1. Caves are often assumed to be predator-free environments for cave fishes. This has been proposed to be a potential benefit of colonising these otherwise harsh environments. In order to test this hypothesis, the predator–prey interaction of a Belostomatid (predator) and a cave fish (prey) occurring in the Cueva del Azufre (Tabasco, Mexico) was investigated with two separate experiments. 2. In one experiment, individual Belostoma were given a chance to prey on a cave fish, the cave form of the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana), to estimate feeding rates and size-specific prey preferences of the predator. In the other experiment, population density of Belostoma was estimated using a mark–recapture analysis in one of the cave chambers. 3. Belostomatids were found to heavily prey on cave mollies and to exhibit a prey preference for large fish. The mark–recapture analysis revealed a high population density of the heteropterans in the cave. 4. The absence of predators in caves is not a general habitat feature for cave fishes. None the less predation regimes differ strikingly between epigean and hypogean habitats. The prey preference of Belostoma indicates that cave-dwelling P. mexicana experience size-specific predation pressure comparable with surface populations, which may have implications for life-history evolution in this cave fish.