Search

The cosmopolitan Microgastrinae is probably the most diverse braconid subfamily of parasitoid wasps, yet its species diversity is far from being known. As part of a global initiative for DNA barcoding Microgastrinae species, here we show the results of a study that assessed the species richness of this subfamily in a Mexican tropical dry forest located in the Chamela region, near the Pacific coast of Jalisco. Barcoding sequences of a total of 551 microgastrine specimens were generated, corresponding to 238 haplotypes. Performance of two species delineation approaches, a 2% corrected pairwise distance criterion and the general mixed Yule-coalescent ( GMYC) method, yielded 100 and 112 putative species, respectively, which belong to 13 genera. The species delimited by the above two approaches were mostly congruent with our morphospecies identification. Ten molecular operational taxonomic units ( MOTUs) were split into twenty-two species by the GMYC approach. We found morphological differences between the GMYC species corresponding to three of these MOTUs. Thus, a total of 103 microgastrine species were confirmed for the region of study. Thirty-three species were only represented by males, and therefore, their generic assignment is only tentatively proposed. Fornicia, Dolichogenoidea, Distatrix, Glyptapanteles and Pholetesor represent new generic records for the Mexican territory. A new record for the country is also provided for the Diolcogaster-basimacula species group. Based on a comparison of nearly 20 000 barcoding sequences released for Microgastrinae from 75 countries, only five microgastrine species from Chamela were found to occur in other countries, four in Costa Rica and one in Canada and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost no studies have been done with respect to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphism and sequence diversity in bats, although they account for one in five living mammalian species. We analysed MHC Class II DRB polymorphism and sequence diversity in two Mexican verpertilionid bat species, the widespread continental species Myotis velifer and the narrowly distributed (and endangered) island endemic Myotis vivesi. We find extensive DRB polymorphism in the widespread M. velifer, similar to that commonly reported in other mammals. The geographically restricted M. vivesi by contrast shows only very limited polymorphism. We conclude that M. vivesi has undergone a dramatic loss of MHC polymorphism. The significance of this inference in light of other information on population structure and genetic diversity in this species is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title copper(II) coordination compound, C18H22CuN8O6S2 {[Cu(NO3)(PyTz)2]NO3}, was synthesized in the form of small crystals unsuitable for structure determination by single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. It was therefore characterized by molecular modelling coupled with X-ray powder diffractometry [monoclinic, space group P21/n, a = 20.695 (7) Å, b = 8.054 (2) Å c = 15.157 (4) Å bb = 112.09 (2)° and Rwp 0.129]. The procedure used to resolve the structure followed direct space methods with a ‘Monte Carlo/parallel tempering’ search algorithm, where the starting configuration was obtained by means of molecular mechanics. A final refinement was performed with the Rietveld method. Bond distances, bond angles and torsion angles were compared with those of similar compounds deposited in the Cambridge Structural Database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the first diagnosis of Dirofilaria immitis infection in an African lion. Examination of the lungs revealed the presence of three round nodules and a greyish discoloration, particularly in the diaphragmatic lobes. It is important to note that one adult nematode is sufficient to cause severe disease in the lion. Various species of mosquitoes transmit the disease and the stable presence of these natural vectors increases the probability of the transmission of endemic animal filarioids.