(Press-News.org) The sequencing and assembly of the genome of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae, is published online this week in Genome Biology. The species is native to North America, where it is currently wreaking havoc in an area of forest ten times larger than previous outbreaks. This paper determines genes that may be involved in colonizing the trees, such as enzymes for degrading plant cell walls, and identifies potential sex chromosomes in the beetle.
D. ponderosae is a species of bark beetle, native to North America, that attacks various species of pine trees. The beetle releases pheromones that attract more beetles to a tree, and this mass-attack of the tree in combination with a fungus spread by the beetles kills the tree. It then lays its eggs and the larvae feed under the bark.
Beetles are the largest insect order on our planet, with over 400,000 species known. Until now, only one, the red flour beetle, had been sequenced. Joerg Bohlmann and colleagues sequenced D. ponderosae, in order to better understand the unique aspects of this beetle's biology. As well as genes involved in the colonizing of trees, the team identifies a bacterial gene that has seemingly been transferred into the beetle genome. Their description of potential sex chromosomes in the beetle could have important implications for investigating sex-specific differences in the species, such as pheromone production and size dimorphism, and how the sex-specific differences in this and other beetle species originated.
The current outbreak has destroyed more than 15 million hectares of pine forests with major environmental impacts on forest health, and economic impacts on the forest industry. The team believe that the knowledge of the genes involved in the breakdown of host defense compounds, and the production of pheromones that draw others to the tree could help with the development of better control methods for this most serious of pests.
INFORMATION:
Media Contact
Dr. Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Mob: 44-0-778-698-1967
Notes
1. Draft genome of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, a major forest pest
Christopher I Keeling, Macaire MS Yuen, Nancy Y Liao, T Roderick Docking, Simon K Chan, Greg A Taylor, Diana L Palmquist, Shaun D Jackman, Anh Nguyen, Maria Li, Hannah Henderson, Jasmine K Janes, Yongjun Zhao, Pawan Pandoh, Richard Moore, Felix AH Sperling, Dezene PW Huber, Inanc Birol, Stephen JM Jones and Joerg Bohlmann
Genome Biology (in Press)
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Please credit picture to Ward Strong, B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. More pictures available on request
2. Genome Biology publishes research articles, new methods and software tools, in addition to reviews and opinions, from the full spectrum of biology, including molecular, cellular, organism or population biology studied from a genomic perspective, as well as sequence analysis, bioinformatics, proteomics, comparative biology and evolution. @GenomeBiology
3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral
Pining for a beetle genome
2013-03-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Sequencing without PCR reduces bias in measuring biodiversity
2013-03-27
DNA barcode sequencing without the amplification of DNA by PCR beats the problem of false positives which can inflate estimates of biodiversity, finds a study published in BioMed Central and BGI Shenzhen's open access journal GigaScience. This method tested on a bulk 'squashome' of mixed insect samples is also able rapidly and cost-effectively estimate biomass.
Often samples collected in the field are too small be sequenced directly. Traditionally, to get round this problem, DNA from the sample is amplified using multiple cycles of PCR. However this process is highly ...
Squished bug genomics: Insect goo aids biodiversity research
2013-03-27
March 27th, 2013, Hong Kong, China – GigaScience (a BGI and BioMed Central open access journal) announces the publication of an article that presents a new method for assessing and understanding biodiversity that uses a DNA-soup made from crushed-up insects and next generation sequencing technology. This bulk-collected insect goo has the potential to rapidly and cost-effectively reveal the diversity and make-up of both known and unknown species collected in a particular time and place. The new method devised by Xin Zhou and colleagues at BGI Shenzhen, China, is a more accurate ...
Researchers question evaluation methods for protected areas in the Amazon
2013-03-27
The indicators currently being used to guide policy and investments into protected areas in the Amazon may not be having the desired effect.
This is according to a new study published today, 27 March, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters, which has analysed 66 protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon and performed a critical analysis of the tool – the Rapid Assessment and Prioritisation of Protected Area Management (RAPPAM) – that is used to manage, prioritise and assess the effectiveness of conservation efforts in these areas.
The researchers, ...
Overweight and obese women at higher risk of adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes
2013-03-27
Overweight and obese women are more likely to require specialist medical care during their pregnancy due to the increased risk of adverse neonatal and maternal outcomes, finds a new study published today (27 March) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The study, carried out by a team from Queen's University Belfast and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, found that maternal obesity has significant health implications contributing to increased morbidity and mortality for both mother and baby. With worldwide obesity rates having doubled over ...
Many cancer institution websites lack nutritional guidance, others give mixed messages
2013-03-27
PHILADELPHIA—Radiation oncologists at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital are stressing the need for evidence-based, standardized guidelines on dietary recommendations for cancer patients—and with good reason. A new analysis revealed that online dietary recommendations for cancer patients, if even present on an institution's website, appear to be consistently inconsistent.
A review of all 21 of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) member institutions found that only four provided nutritional guidelines, with seven linking to external sites. What's more, ...
Paranoia persists in mugging victims for months after attack, study finds
2013-03-27
Being mugged or randomly attacked in the street often leaves people paranoid and distrustful of others long after the attack, according to a study published today. The research highlights a previously under-recognised consequence of physical assault which will help to inform therapy for those seeking help.
In the study, four out of five victims reported that since the assault they were more fearful of other people than they wanted to be. Importantly the study identified what led to excessive mistrust lasting over the next six months. Being attacked close to home, feeling ...
Hospital remains most common place of death for cancer patients in England
2013-03-27
In England, hospital is still the most common place for patients with cancer to die but an increase in home and hospice deaths since 2005 suggests that the National End of Life Care Programme (a Programme to promote the rollout of national end-of-life care initiatives) has helped more people to die at their preferred place of death, according to a UK study funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research (NIHR HS&DR) Programme, published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
In a large analysis led by Dr Wei Gao and Professor Irene Higginson ...
Potential Chagas vaccine candidate shows unprecedented efficacy
2013-03-27
Scientists are getting closer to a Chagas disease vaccine, something many believed impossible only 10 years ago. Research from the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has resulted in a safe vaccine candidate that is simple to produce and shows a greater than 90 percent protection rate against chronic infection in mice.
In a paper published online in PLOS ONE, the researchers describe how they identified and tested potential Trypanosoma cruzi (also known as T. cruzi or Chagas disease) antigen candidates and delivery ...
Experts find link between low doses of vitamin D and adverse pregnancy outcomes
2013-03-27
Research: Association between maternal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and pregnancy and neonatal outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
Editorial: Vitamin D sufficiency in pregnancy
There is a link between vitamin D insufficiency and adverse health outcomes such as gestational diabetes and preeclampsia in mothers-to-be and low birth weight in newborns, suggests a paper published on bmj.com today.
Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with a number of adverse health outcomes and has been recognised as a public health concern. Plus, ...
Death in young children linked to their mother's poor health
2013-03-27
In poorer countries, young children are more likely to die in the months before their mother's death, when she is seriously ill, and also in the period after her death, according to a study by international researchers published in this week's PLOS Medicine.
These findings are important as they highlight the urgent need for proactive and coordinated community-based interventions to support families, especially vulnerable children, when a mother becomes seriously ill, not just in the period following her death.
Research was carried out in a large socio-economically ...