Richard H Ffrench-Constant

..This finding has numerous implications for our understanding of the prevalence of resistance to new compounds. It also indicates that pre-existing resistance alleles might not carry the fitness cost that is associated with new mutations...

..The likely biological reasons for the massive functional redundancy in Photorhabdus insecticidal toxins are discussed...

..By using RNA interference, it is now also possible to dissect this complex tripartite interaction in a range of both model and non-model hosts...

..No increased survival on any insecticide was detected for flies over-expressing either Cyp6a2, Cyp6a8, Cyp6t3, Cyp6a19 or Cyp6a23...

..This shows that, although detoxification enzymes are widely distributed, baseline protection against DDT resides primarily in the insect excretory system, corresponding to less than 0.1% of the mass of the organism...

..We investigated the secreted proteome of a clinical isolate of P. asymbiotica at different temperatures in order to identify proteins relevant to the infection of the two different hosts...

..This 'unigene set' will form a critical reference point for quantitation of over-expressed messages via digital transcriptomics...

..melpomene. To this end we have undertaken comparative mapping and targeted genomic sequencing in both species. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of genomic sequences linked to color pattern mimicry genes in Heliconius...

..This rapid growth in data has outstripped the ability of researchers working on non-model species to analyze and mine transcriptome data efficiently...

..The genome of the Kingscliff strain also contains several genomic differences from the US isolate, whose potential significance in virulence against both humans and insects is discussed...

..Given the huge diversity of beetles alive today, and the diversity of their lifestyles and diets, we predict that beetle guts will emerge as an important new source of enzymes for use in biotechnology...

..The detailed analysis of the remaining host of loci will facilitate genetic dissection of the interaction of this important pathogen with host macrophages and thus further elucidate this critical part of its infection cycle...

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..We also describe a wealth of new transcripts predicting rapidly evolving gene families involved in plant tissue digestion, which have no homologs in the genome of the stored product pest the Red Flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum...

..Together, these results show that Mcf1 mediates apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway, and are consistent with the hypothesis that the BH3-like domain in Mcf1 is a functional requirement for the pro-apoptotic activity of Mcf1...

..Here we compare the complete genome of Pa ATCC43949 with that of the previously sequenced insect pathogen P. luminescens strain TT01 which was isolated from its entomopathogenic nematode vector collected from soil in Trinidad and Tobago...

..Given the continuous normal exposure of insects to environmental and symbiotic bacteria, we suggest that prior infection is likely to play a significant and underestimated role in determining the level of insect immunity found in nature...

..The Mcf1 and Mcf2 toxins therefore belong to a family of high molecular mass toxins, differing at their N-termini, which encode different effector domains...

..This article examines the available evidence for this concept by examining pairs of closely related bacteria, one of which is benign, but insect associated, and one of which is a human pathogen...

..These studies enable us to address three fundamental questions in the evolution of resistance. How many genes are involved? How many mutations are there within these genes? How often do these mutations arise in natural populations?..

..Using a DNA microarray and comparative genomics, we show that oral toxicity is associated with toxin complex genes tcaABC and that this locus can be mobilized or deleted within different strains...

..Here, we describe novel genomic islands from Photorhabdus that are involved in symbiosis and pathogenicity, and discuss the inter-relationship between virulence factors used against invertebrates and vertebrates...

..We also show that adaptive evolution, both convergent and diversifying, can occur by the repeated involvement of the same genomic regions...

..These results show not only that Photorhabdus is recognized by the Manduca sexta immune system but also that the insect's immune system plays an active, but ultimately ineffective, role in countering infection...

..Thus, ST has a dual function both as a PO inhibitor to counter host immune reactions and also as an antibiotic to exclude microbial competitors from the insect cadaver...

..This study provides a significant example of how changes in tissue-specific gene expression caused by transposable-element insertions can contribute to adaptation...

..Although the source of infection was previously unknown, we report that the bacterium is found in a symbiotic association with an insect-pathogenic soil nematode of the genus Heterorhabditis...

..In contrast, RNAi of PGRP had no effect on any of these cellular immune functions. These results demonstrate the vital role of Hemolin in Manduca cellular immune responses...

..This close association of the bacteria with the gut, and the production of toxins and protease, triggers a massive programmed cell death of the midgut epithelium...